Rising Above Suffering “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. Isaiah 40: 27 – 31(NIV)

Life is a series of problems: you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you will soon get into another one. Many in problems are tempted to think that God had forgotten them and does not care any more. Even Jesus suffered on the Cross and shouted in Mathew 27: 46 ‘Eloi Eloi, lama sabachthani “ My God my God why have you forsaken me?”

There are many reasons why we suffer; as a punishment for our individual or collective sins; as a way to bring us closer to God, mold our character and make us holy; or for other reasons that only God knows.

The Bible tells us what to do when we suffer, those who depend on their own perceived power will fail. When they meet with problems they lack strength, stumble and fall. However, those that depend on God’s power will ride on it and their strength will be renewed.

But what is meant by soaring like an eagle? It is in having vision and not treasuring or being burdened unduly by the temporal things of the world.  We are heaven bound. Like an eagle sets its wings so that the wind lifts it above the storms, during our troubles, we should  let God’s power lift us out of our comfort zone to one of maturity in Christ. Like the eagle that forces its young out of their nests so that they can learn to fly, and hovers over them to catch them on her wings if they fall, we should know that God through the Holy Spirit will always support and carry us as we are molded into the image of Christ.