“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles…” (Isaiah 40:29a NLT)
My family has been treading water for months. Since March 3rd, we have been strung out between ministry assignments and our household of five is very close to shrinking to three. Our son leaves for college in a few short weeks and my brother is anxiously awaiting his ‘any day’ phone call for placement in a Veteran Home. Meanwhile, Rob and I wait. We work, we pray and we speak aloud our trust in God. It feels impossible to make any firm plans with our family unit in such limbo. More importantly, we haven’t gotten specific direction from the Lord. So the days tick by and the sense of urgency to self-solve grows. We must resist the urge to push. We want whatever God wants next, not our own will and not our own Ishmael.
This verse about soaring makes me think of Israel. Quite honestly, since we left the Holy Land, it’s sacred soil is never too far from my thoughts. We toured so many tels in Israel; mounds built up from accumulated civilizations over thousands of years. These mounds held the secrets of ancient cities. The rocks and rubble were hard to identify as homes and streets until we found the model of the city as it originally stood. Most every site had one; a miniaturized bird’s eye view of the what we were really looking at. The archeologists somehow see what is no longer there. They sift through these stones and dirt and find a city as it once was, and then they assist the pilgrim with the same task.
Today I am reminded how very much I need an eagle’s perspective on my life. From my grounded state, it appears to be in ruins. I keep tripping over the thoughts of what used to be. But I remember that God is the architect and builder. Where I see rubble, He sees potential. What feels like wreckage is actually prime real estate that can be built up again. Our guide made that clear; it’s far easier to rebuild a destroyed city than to start again from scratch.
“For he was looking forward to a city with foundations, who’s architect and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:10 NIV)
Lord, today we are reminded how direly we need Your perspective on our story. May we have the courage to climb in Your grip. Lift us to a higher place where we can see the world as You see it. We believe You to be the builder. We trust Your perfect plans. Renew our strength as we wait on You. Amen.