Bird’s Eye View

“God is known only in devotion, not in detachment.”

Arthur Benner

“He found him in a desert land and in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye.

As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its wings, so the Lord alone led him, and there was no foreign god with him.” Deuteronomy 32:11-13

When you begin to explore the nature of the eagle you begin to understand why God sees Himself as an eagle, and we are the chicks. Eagles have to take care of their young for much longer than most other birds. The eaglets stay in the nest for up to 100 days. When they are ready to learn to fly, the eagle soars and hovers, catching the young on its wings if it just goes into a dead fall.

The actions of the eagle speak to how God cares for us – encircles, carries and covers, or protects us. But look deeper still. One of the extraordinary features of the eagle is its vision. Some eagles can see twice as far as humans. The true eagle can spot an animal the size of a rabbit up to 2 miles away. Its eyes are packed with sensory cells. Where humans have 200 000 light sensitive cells per square mm of retina, an eagles has 1 million light sensitive cells per sqare millimeter.

Where we see in three basic colors, eagles see in five basic colors, allowing them to spot animals in camouflage.

I cannot but realize that God sees the details of my life; even the things that I think are hidden from sight, the things that don’t matter at all.

If nothing is hidden, there is nothing that “doesn’t matter” or count in the sight of God.

“Why do you say o Jacob and speak, o Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord and my just claim is passed over by my God? Have you know known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth neither faints nor is weary, his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall.

But those who wait on 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.” Isaiah 40:28-31

When electricity first became available to farmers living in the north of England, there were varied responses. Some property owners outright refused to have it. There’s a story of one elderly lady who had power lines put in, but for months her meter readings were next to nothing. They thought perhaps the meter was faulty, so a second meter was installed. Finally, they questioned her and she admitted to using electricity every night: “When it gets dark I switch on the lights, find my matches, light my candle and then switch off the lights again.’

This story illustrates a sad fact for many of us much of the time. We have the power lines of God’s presence surrounding us, but so often we’re disconnected. Or we connect like this lady did – we use just enough to get by. “God help me. God help my friend.” Amen. Why do we just switch on to get enough juice to keep going? I think we struggle with this thought of “Can I hear God speak to me – is this really you God? “

God has a bird’s eye view of your life – an eagle’s vision of all that you are and all that you do.

You were made for fellowship with Him.

Faith as a way of life is not just stacking up God-knowledge, but making room for devotion. And as we do we will find He is always present. Today I encourage you to make time to wake up to His presence in and around you.

He is waiting for you!