I would like us all to remember God’s words to His people in “I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.” (Exodus 19:3-8)
It is known about birds that when eagles try to teach their chicks to fly, they move their nest vigorously and the chicks fall in the air with fear.
They try to face the wind with their small wings, so the eagles speed up and spread their strong wings under them to catch them, so they do not fall and perish!!
Eagles keep on doing this for several times to strengthen the wings of their chicks and get used to flying.
God may allow His children to experience some hardships in their daily or spiritual life, not because He abandons them, but in order to teach them how to become strong.
God does not throw us into tribulations in order to perish, but in order to gain the Heavenly Kingdom.
Contemplate on the words: “and brought you to Myself”, when God allows your nest or your life to be shaken, do not think that He has left you, He is rather training you to give you the strong wings of an eagle, so you can fly high towards the sky!!
This test is a very important test for our lives, as life is not free from hardships and troubles, but every day remember that God carries you on His strong wings, His wings that are full of love, His wings that can deal with all the circumstances of life.
God brought His people out of Egypt into the wilderness, and on the way there were many hardships: Pharaoh’s stubbornness, and the Red Sea full to its shores and the desert without water or food, and the long wandering that lasted for forty years and the Amalekites, however, in all of these situations, God carried His people on His strong wings, and delivered them from all distress.
However, God, in order to carry you on these wings, He expects you not to complain, and not to return with your heart to the world and desire its ways and solutions or be preoccupied with its happiness and pleasures, but rather, to remain confident that God is full of tenderness and wisdom, and in all the ways of your life, He cares first that you become strong to qualify for the Heavenly Kingdom.
If you want to enjoy the strong wings of God that protect you, make sure to:
1. Submission and obedience to the will of God: In order to enjoy these strong wings, you must repeat the words of the people “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” (Exodus 19:8).
The heart that listens to God’s voice and obeys it obliges God to take care of him Thus, our father Abraham was obedient, so God carried him all his days and blessed him.
2. Sticking to God’s promises to us: God deals with each one of us personally. He sends us His promises every day, and He asks you to wait for Him to fulfil His promises to you, and if you stick to Him, He carries you on His wings to lift you up in all circumstances.
3. Enduring pain: pain in Christianity is a common factor that accompanied the lives of all the men of God in the Bible and all the fathers and saints of the Church. “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23). Therefore, always remind yourself when troubles come that God does not leave us in distress to discipline us, but rather to teach us, bear the pains with patience and thanksgiving, and waiting for the Lord.
4. Finally, make sure that you strive to live in purity, and always assess yourself so that your pain is not due to your sins. If you are repentant, trust that God with His strong wings will not leave you alone in your life. Rest assured.
H.E. Metropolitan Pakhomious
Metropolitan of Behira, Matrouh,
Pentapolis & Five Western Cities