Why I Can Fly

I Believe I Can Fly was a song made popular a few years ago by R. Kelly. Then someone Christianized it. We took to both arrangements like moths to a flame. Why? The song carried in it a hope that we could rise above our circumstances and live better lives. It empowered us. It lifted us up.

In Isaiah 40:31 the Word says Israel, an us by faith appropriation, can mount up or rise on wings like eagle’s wings. We have a hope in that it empowers us. We believe that we can rise above our circumstances, if only for a minute. We are lifted up.

But why? How?

About Eagles

Eagles are powerful and majestic birds. Dr. Miles Munroe lists 7 characteristics of eagles for his leadership workshops. We are leaders, right?

·        No other bird can fly as high.

o   Up to 10,000 ft

o   Wingspan of 6-7 ft tip to tip

·        Eagles have sharp vision.

o   They can see for miles.

o   They are very observant of their surroundings.

·        Eagles have strong loyalty and nurturing qualities.

o   They mate for life; they work together with that mate to take care of their eaglets.

·        Eagles are fearless.

o   They are territorial.

o   They will fight to protect their own.

·        They are tenacious.

o   Eagles fly into the storm.

o   It uses the winds of the storm to fly to higher heights rather than run and hide.

·         Recognizes the need for restoration. 

o   Every 40 years they pluck out their feathers, break their beaks and destroy their talons.

o   They lay in the sun at the highest place available and rest while the feathers, talons, and beak grow back and are restored.

If we are to mount up or rise on wings like eagles, why can’t we appropriate the other characteristics of the eagle? That is exactly what we have said here at Eagles Wings.

The referenced scripture text is

Isaiah 40:31 (ESV)
³¹  but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. 

Waiting

Why does waiting on the LORD cause us to rise up on wings like eagles?

First of all, waiting does not mean sitting around doing nothing. It means to be bound up in or twisted up in. So first we are to be bound to the LORD or twisted up in Him. The tense of the Hebrew word for wait is imperfect. That means it began and will not be completed until sometime in the future. So we are to get bound up in the LORD and keep on being bound up until the end, whenever that is. I’d say we are to be bound until the end of time.

I now have the promise that if I am bound up in or twisted up in the LORD my strength will be renewed and I won’t get tired or weary.

How is that? I get tired. When you get tired or weary, He will renew your strength. He will bring your vitality back. So theoretically, you don't get tired. You don't stay tired. Mental and spiritual renew greatly aids physical renewal.

How then is He able to do this? He is God!

God ask Israel and now us in Isaiah 40:18.

Who is like me? With whom will you compare me?

The answer

Isaiah 40:22-25 (ESV)
²²  It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
²³  who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.
²⁴  Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
²⁵  To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.

In the book of Job, God has a conversation with Job about this same thing. During Job's loss, his friends came to console him and help him understtand what had happen to him and why. However, in spite of their good intentions, they were way off the mark for what Job needed. Job didn't even know what he needed. He had one perspective and God had another. So the question God asked was 

Job 38:2-4 (ESV)
²  “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
³  Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. ⁴  “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.

The remainder of that chapter describes God's supreme creative powers, His supreme sovereignty, His supreme self-existent self. 

And that has what to do with me?

This is He to whom I have bound myself. 
If He has done and is all that

• Surely He can renew my strength. 
• Surely He can cause me to or give me the ability to rise above my problems; above my fears; above other people’s drama; financial shortages; sickness and anything else we have to face.

The question then is to whom are you bound? 
One who can cause you to fly or one who keeps you scavenging on the ground?

If you have chosen to be an eagle rather than a pigeon, chicken or turkey, then remember the characteristics that you possess or have available to you. You have the God of gods, empowering you. And while you are being restored you are being carried on His wings.

That's why I can fly. Are you ready to fly? MOUNT UP!

This is a portion of the sermon I delivered on September 28th at Eagles Wings Christian Church