Has there been a time lately when you have been discouraged, over-burdened, worn out, despondent or confused? Perhaps, all of the above at a given time? Please say yes, as I don’t like to visit this grubby junkyard alone. It is not a fun place to wallow in the muck, the trash and debris. Rationally thinking, I doubt I am the only soul who has occasionally experienced these feelings (more often than I like to admit), but this realization brings little comfort to me. I know folks often say that misery loves company, but that is a farce because someone elses pain cannot console our own. So, what does this blithering have to do with eagles? Glad you asked for the answer is an upper and not a downer! Just the other day I found myself in the junkyard, and I didn’t want to be there. Recently, I read a devotion which emphasized the renewing power that God offers to each of His children. Most of you are familiar with these verses, but just in case you aren’t or don’t have them memorized, I will recite them from the book of Isaiah, chapter 40, verses 28 through 31 (NIV). God spoke them and Isaiah wrote them.

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint”.

Sometimes we need a sign from God to let us know He cares. I know, we are not supposed to seek after signs, but that warning had more to do with proving that God existed in the person of Christ than signs of hope and comfort. My point is simple. While at a future construction site the day after I read those verses, I witnessed an eagle soaring on the soft currents of air a few hundred feet above my head. What was so unusual is that this beautiful bird was soaring over a busy railroad main line, an auto dealership, an industrial building, near an interstate highway and in an area without a swath of tree-filled land and quiet. In other words, he shouldn’t have been there. But he was, and I noticed, and I snapped away with my digital camera even though I wasn’t prepared for him. To watch hawks glide in the wind is always a treat for me, but to see this eagle appear from nowhere and soar above me and my partner for several minutes was simply astonishing. I’ll take that as a sign that the Father heard one of His children, and cared enough to let him know. It is my hope that you, too, will receive a sign from the One who cares the most for you. This sign may not be in the form of an eagle, but it could manifest itself as a soft word spoken in love at just the right time when you need it most. Or, your sign may be revealed in an anonymous act of kindness when least expected. Possibly, such a sign may simply leap off the page of a great book or Bible verse and impact you like never before. Perhaps from another blogger!

Whether your sign of everlasting love is revealed on the wings of eagles or from the voice of one of his earthly angels, be encouraged. Recall God’s promises of hope, renewal and strength, and then be alert for He will respond. Sometimes all we have to do is gaze heavenward.