On Wings Like Eagles

Confident in the Lord’s leading, I submitted my application for the director position at the Christian camp, and waited. For my interview. For the offer. But neither ever came. It was a Friday when I received the letter in the mail bearing the camp logo . . . I wasn’t even considered for an interview. I will have to admit, I spent Saturday in quite a funk. I could hardly believe it! How could this be possible? I kept looking at the plaque I had bought for our home office with Isaiah 40:31 painted over the picture of a soaring eagle. Had I heard God wrong . . .?

I had learned through my experience at HorsePower that, even if God leads you there, the going wasn’t always easy. In all fairness, the Bible warns that following Jesus won’t be easy. Scripture says that we must pick up our cross and follow him—and after seeing The Passion and its graphic depiction of Jesus’ crucifixion, "picking up our cross" took on a whole new meaning! Yet, the Bible also promises that God will go before us and will always be with us. And, in this particular case, I was reminded over and over that we could soar on wings like eagles. If only we waited on the Lord, he would be the wind beneath our wings.

On Sunday morning at our new church home, the pastor started a new sermon series called . . . The Waiting Room! He went on to say, “Maybe you find yourself in a season of waiting . . . maybe between jobs . . .” My husband was elbowing me in the ribs. It was as though the pastor was speaking directly to me. And then for the next slide, the picture of a soaring eagle . . . and Isaiah 40:31! The same verse God had put on my heart as I watched that eagle soar over the rolling hills of the Christian camp. The pastor was emphasizing the importance of waiting while you wait—serving. Another breadcrumb, for sure. I was on the right path. I just had to wait.

So, I waited while I waited. I volunteered every Monday morning at the church, where I would type the prayers that people submitted on Sunday. And I began to volunteer at a local prayer ministry, where I spent an entire afternoon each week in prayer with some of the most amazing prayer warriors I have ever met! While my friend from Topeka, KS had taught me the passion of prayer, these women taught me the power of prayer. I was learning that God is always at work, even when we don’t realize it. Teaching us, shaping us, battering us into something useful for his kingdom work. 

As only God could orchestrate, during this season our new church began its jail ministry. Because God had me strategically placed at the church on Monday mornings (through what I had seen, initially, as rejection by the camp), I began to type the prayers of the people in the jail. And God began to break my heart for what breaks his. Maybe 5% of the average church attenders sought prayer, while probably 95% of the folks in the jail begged for prayer. Their masks were off! And through these prayers, I began to see deeper and deeper into this world that I had previously only had glimpses of. Assumptions and stereotypes I had long held were challenged, judgments I didn’t realize I made were being exposed. These were broken people. Hurt people who hurt people. People who loved their kids, loved their families, but were caught up in the cycle of poverty, neglect, abuse, addiction. People who wanted something different—who desperately wanted God. And he was making a way for me to bring them the gospel. In time, I would begin a weekly Bible study with the women in the jail.

Again, as only God could orchestrate, during this season the prayer center began to send prayer warriors in to pray with people after chapel at a local behavioral health center. As they went to pray with these people, they found they had SO many questions—questions even the prayer warriors didn’t feel equipped to handle. They were asking scientific questions, philosophical questions . . . hard questions. Because God had me strategically placed at the prayer center, these women knew my heart to share the gospel with evidence. The director of the prayer center approached me, asking if I would be willing to help out with the behavioral health center’s spirituality groups. Would I share in the unique way that God had gifted me . . . the same way that he had reached me. Doors were opened that had previously seemed closed. I began to bring the Good News—with evidence—to people hungry for the truth.

“…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 40:31 NIV

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to

be my disciple must deny themselves and

take up their cross and follow me.””

Matthew 16:24 NIV

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those

who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Romans 8:28 NIV

“In him we were also chosen, having been predestined

according to the plan of him who works out everything

in conformity with the purpose of his will,”

Ephesians 1:11 NIV