Yesterday Afternoon -
I listened to a preacher sharing the example of how an eagle cares for its young. There were no Bible verses used in the illustration - just the illustration alone. Yet, there was something in the teaching that resonated in my spirit as I heard him describe how the eagle doesn't allow the young in the nest to be too comfortable within the nest because the nest is not where the eaglets are to remain . . . He went on to say that if you are comfortable in this world - you will conform to this world. The Lord won't allow those who follow Him to find a comfortable rest or abode "in the world." When an eagle is trying to teach its eaglets to fly, the eagle won't allow the eaglets to rest for long periods in the nest. The eagle will stir up that nest in order to encourage the eaglets to fly. The stirring up of the nest, pushes the eaglets out. The eagle will push the eaglet out, and the eaglet will fall, but the eagle will swoop under the baby eagle in order to catch it if it will not yet fly. The eagle will continue to do that until the eaglets learn how to fly. If the eagle makes a comfortable place for the eaglets, then the eaglets won't be as inclined to fly. "What you don't use, you lose. If you don't start flapping your wings and flying, you're never going to be able to fend for yourself." After listening to this example, I moved on with my day, not thinking again about the eagle...
This Morning -
I turned the lights off in my room at work, Bible in hand, and prayed to my Lord for His help on a matter. I had to hear from Him. Not others. Not me. But Him. It is a matter that means more to me than life. My Prayer Centered Upon Being Led of Him. Over the years, I have been exposed to a great deal of that which is false in the church (or what professes to be the church). My prayer directly related to that again. Trying spirits... How many anguished moments have I spent in prayer trying spirits... Yet, Jesus has always proven faithful and has distinguished between the real and the false. I tell you that it is only in His presence that I can truly exhale. I owe every step of the remainder of my life to Him. So this morning, in a dark room, I opened my heart to Him and asked Him to help me.
This Afternoon -
Just a few hours after my prayer, the Lord - as only He can - answered not only my prayer but used the very same symbol of the eagle teaching and protecting its young. I tell you that God amazes me. He is ALIVE - and intercedes when we seek Him in Spirit and in Truth.
I had forgotten the example of the eagle from the day before; in fact, I had not given the example a second thought since hearing it . . . but God surely had - He who orchestrates all.
The Lord, in an unmistakable way, allowed certain events to unfold this morning and this afternoon that brought me to a few verses. The way He led me to the verses below were so remarkable that when I read them, I thought who is the magnificent Maker of the Universe that has given the people a book that is ALIVE . . . His Word is alive. Thoughts of eagles never entered my mind today, so when the Lord intricately led me to these verses
(that I wasn't even aware existed in the Bible), . . . I exhaled.
(that I wasn't even aware existed in the Bible), . . . I exhaled.
The presence of the Almighty brought me to a place of rest.
"As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: (Deuteronomy 32: 11)
So the Lord alone did lead him (Jacob), and there was no strange god with him. (Deuteronomy 32: 12).
He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock;" (Deuteronomy 32: 13).
Through years of seeking the Lord and trying the spirits, God has truly remained faithful to my genuine cries for Truth. He has revealed time and again who He is and who He is not. He has revealed that which is true in the church and that which is false in the church. He has not faltered in revealing Himself to me during these intense times of calling out to Him. He has not ever said, "How dare you seek the Truth!" No... we have been taught by so many that testing the spirits is dangerous. The Word tells us to try the spirits. The Word knows that false will enter the sanctuary and can defile and distort those in the sanctuary ... if those in the sanctuary permit it. . . . . Have not Jeremiah and Ezekiel spoken of such things? Does Paul not admonish the brethren to "Be not deceived"?
We must move away from the fear man places in us. I've seen that spirit in action so often over the years. The spirit that attempts to stifle an honest heart that simply seeks the Truth. I can recall hearing that spirit misuse verses from the Bible solely for that spirit's gain: "Touch not mine anointed..." in an attempt to dissuade an honest heart from seeking the Truth. That verse is strong, and that verse is absolutely true, but the Lord never intended "the false" to hold the verse up as a shield in order to prevent honest hearts from trying the spirits.
It is shameful to hijack the Word of God for the cause of carnal men. The Lord hears those who seek Him and His Truth. The Lord does not oppose an honest heart that simply wants the Lord's revelation on a matter. He does not oppose those who fall before Him and say, "Show me Your Truth, Lord, for nothing else will do." He hears such cries, and He will dispatch His Truth to those humble hearts. He will. He Will.
After His Holy Spirit led me to Deuteronomy 32: 11-13 above, His Grace then led me to another verse that specifically addressed an area of my concern that I placed before His Holy altar.
"And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent." Revelation 12: 14
Although it may not be apparent to the readers, He so utterly nourished me today. My cries were heard at His Throne of Grace. The content of the verses were so specific to my concerns that I truly exhaled each time His Spirit spoke to mine - a place of rest where only He can be found - not in the nest but in the air - soaring.
He has nourished me during the greatest and most intense battles of my life.
How many times has the enemy sat in the very same sanctuary as I and as others... seeking to destroy.
How many times do those in the sanctuary lift their glasses and toast with the enemy? How many times has the enemy preached sermons that had the whole house shouting "Amen!"?
Is that a disturbing question?
These are wicked and deceptive times, friends. We cannot be deceived by the wiles of Satan. The Bible tells us that Satan, himself, is transformed into a minister of light. 2 Corinthians 11: 14
Ezekiel 13: 3
Jeremiah 7: 8
2 Corinthians 11: 3
2 Corinthians 11: 4
Luke 21: 8
1 Corinthians 6: 9
Deuteronomy 11: 6
Galatians 6: 7
1 John 4: 1
Jude 1: 4
Comfort in the nest is dangerous.
Those who follow the Lord's leading will not be deceived.
Will He call those who follow Him to do that which seems impossible? Yes. He will.
Will He nourish us in the wilderness? Yes.
Will He keep us from the face of the serpent? Yes.
Can He alone lead us? Yes.
Will we follow . . . If we do, His Grace will take care of us.
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JANUARY 28th, 2015
I shared a blog entry recently (above) where the Lord had directly answered a sincere prayer that I placed before Him. I titled it: "Eagles: A Matter of Survival."
Well, earlier in the week, I was driving home from work and asked the Lord to guide me and to confirm to me the next step in my walk with Him. He has been revealing it to me for some time, but I have continually said, "Is that You, Lord?"
No sooner did I pray that while driving down the road, my eyes looked up and an EAGLE was perched high in a sycamore tree just a few feet in front of my car. I turned the car around because Satan was all over that: "There aren't any eagles in Southwest Virginia!!"
I drove back to look again, and sure enough, it was an EAGLE. In my 39 years on this earth, I have never seen an EAGLE in the wild (other than a YouTube video of one.)
WHO, I say, could have placed that majestic eagle in that tree right after I prayed that prayer that specifically dealt with what the Lord showed me days before that moment in the Bible? I wrote a blog on January 19th titled "Eagles: A Matter of Survival," and the Lord showed me an actual EAGLE a few feet from my car perched high in a tree on January 26th. This morning, January 28th, I took a camera with me and traveled back to the same spot in hopes of seeing that Eagle again. And praise the Lord, it was there! To God Be ALL the Glory!
The pictures that I took this morning are below (my camera is not the best).
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