A long time ago when the world was new, God made all the birds on the fifth day. When doing so, He coloured their feathers like an exquisite bouquet of flowers. He then gave many of them a distinctive song to sing. At this point, God instructed these wonderful creatures to greet each new day with a chorus of songs. And their voices announce the morning to this very day.

Each of the birds is special.  Consider the eagle. It possesses great beauty as well as tremendous strength and skill. It is also highly respected by man, with dozens of countries including the US having this bird as  a symbol of their state emblems and national coat of arms. Additionally, when we lay our eyes upon this creature we can’t help but be amazed. Its flight is nothing short of dramatic. Each of these great birds seems to just glide on the air with movements that are more elegant than a waltz.

But is there something we can learn from this majestic creature? Are there lessons that God wants us to understand? Consider how the eagle is made.

An eagle’s eye

Did you know that eagles are capable of seeing fish swimming from several hundred feet above the water? Since most fish are counter-shaded, meaning they are darker on top and thus harder to see from above, this is quite an extraordinary feat. Ask any fisherman how difficult it is to see a fish swim just below the surface from a boat deck, let alone from several hundred feet.

Eagles, like all birds, have colour vision. Their eyes are almost as large as a human’s, but their sharpness is at least four times that of a person with perfect vision. The eagle can identify a rabbit moving almost a mile away. That means that an eagle flying at an altitude of 1,000 feet over open country could spot prey over an area of almost 3 square miles from a fixed position. Incredible is the vision of an eagle!

This ability of the eagle teaches us to have a long term vision and be able to focus on the singular goals to bring about that vision, clouding out all else. As Paul Coelho said, "Whatever you do in life, make sure you have a clear goal. Otherwise, you might be wasting valuable time by spending your time in an undirected and unfocused manner. Knowing precisely what you want to achieve will help you to maintain a higher level of focus and motivation. It will also encourage you to do whatever it takes until your goal is accomplished. But if there’s no dream or vision that fuels all your actions, you are more likely to simply give up when the going gets tough".

Eagles in a storm

Did you know that an eagle can detect when a storm is approaching long before it breaks? It will actually fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come. When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm.

Isn’t that remarkable? While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above. It does not escape the storm. It simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It rises on the winds that bring the storm. What an extraordinary way to deal with adversity!

There is a wonderful lesson for God’s children to learn from the way an eagle approaches a storm. When the storms of life come upon us, we, too, can rise above them. We can lift ourselves above adversity by setting our minds and our hearts toward God. The storms do not have to overcome us any more than they overcome the eagle. We can allow God’s power to lift us above them.

Furthermore, the storms (or trials) of life can actually help us in our walk of faith. This is because they build something in us that will be a part of our lives forever. Notice what Paul wrote to the congregation at Corinth. “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

Here is something to think about. When the eagle flies above the storm, he is in a sense overcoming it. But he does so in a most interesting way. He uses the strength of the storm to rise above it.

That is one of the things God wants us to do. We can use adversity for gain.

We need to learn from trials—to grow from the experience and be made better (James 1:2-3 ).

Sometimes we should “escape” trials (1 Corinthians 10:13). Sometimes we should “flee” (Matthew 10:23).

And at other times, trials are to be confronted and endured (2 Thessalonians 1:4; 2 Timothy 4:5; Hebrews 12:7).

We must face the things that challenge us and grow in virtue because of the challenge.

God is looking for overcomers. And He has a wonderful promise for them. “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” (Revelation 3:21).

THE REWARD OF FAITH

The majestic eagle can teach us much about rising above the storms of life and learning to soar. "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint". (ISAIAH 40:31KJV)