Devotions - Deuteronomy 32:11-12
Deuteronomy 32:11-12
"As an eagle stirs up its nest, and hovers over
its young; as it spreads its wings, takes them up, and bears them
aloft on its pinions, the Lord alone guided him."
The biblical writer was a keen observer of
nature. He had seen how the eagle, the "king of birds," teaches its
young to fly. Perched high on some lofty cliff, the mother eagle
nudges the eaglet at ten weeks of age over the edge. The young bird
is hurled through space and frantically beats its wings desperately.
For a few moments, it does. Then strength fails and the eaglet
plunges to a certain death. But the mother eagle, ever-watchful,
swoops down beneath the eaglet and miraculously supports her young
on her broad wings. After a few hundred feet, the eaglet is shaken
off again and once again the mother eagle comes swiftly bringing
rescue and strong support. Only in this apparent cruelty does the
young learn to use its wings and fly.
Sometimes, life is "upset" in order to be "set-up". The biblical writer saw the eagle as a parable of Israel's history. Through times of despair, suffering, and horror, God was there to bear the nation aloft in safety and protection.
For us as well. In Jesus Christ, we see God's love and experience God's providential care even in our darkest hours, hours of tragedy and death; even now. God can bear us up in Christ and set our lives on new paths.
Through the pain, God's purposes can prevail. We are supported in the upsets of our lives to be set up by the God who loves us utterly and who tenderly bears us up to guide us all our days.