Eagles & Ostriches

“My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in the depths of the earth.” Psalm 130:1

Sometimes I feel close to God. I'm confident, sure of myself and at peace with whatever may be happening. Other times I feel distant, lost, confused and defeated. When things become stressful and I'm not coping well, there are times when I have fully taken my burdens to the Lord and talked through it with Him. But I have to be honest here. There are many more times that I have expected my help to come from somewhere else. I have placed my burdens on those close to me, relying on their support and hoping that somehow they can help me get through. I have tried to put a temporary bandaid on it by turning to quick escapes and distractions. I become frustrated because I feel like I'm not going anywhere. And I'm also scared I'll be stuck in that place forever.

It was while I was trying to pray through a dispiriting rut I found myself in that I felt God gave me a humorous, yet humblingly accurate picture of myself. It was so clear, it actually brought a smile to my face. I saw myself as an ostrich, head deep in the sand and completely oblivious that I was the one who put it there. I had shut my eyes and hid my head in the dirt without even realizing it happened. I felt like God had patiently listened to me gripe and complain, but then simply and gently prompted me to take my head out of the dirt and look up. Instantaneously I felt foolish and silly. What on earth was I doing with my head in the sand?

It was pretty easy to figure out. When things had gotten hard, I ran and hid. I had allowed fear and anxiety to intimidate me, so I froze, too scared to move. And since I ended up with my head in the sand, I somehow allowed myself to believe that God wasn't nearby. He truly seemed far away and His voice muffled, but yet it wasn't Him who was hiding, it was me! Finally I was ready to listen enough to realize what I had been doing wrong. All I had to do was lift up my head and fix my eyes on Him so that we could figure it out together. I would never find the way to go by looking downward.

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.” Psalm 121:1-3

“But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the Lord, and He answered me from His holy hill.” Psalm 3:3-4

Several times in the Bible, the phrase is repeated to “lift up our eyes”. I don't think this is said simply to be poetic. I think that God needs to repeatedly remind us to lift up our eyes to Him because our first impulse is exactly the opposite. As we experience fear or hardship, our bold faith and clear focus can rapidly dissolve when we allow our gaze to slip from our Lord and Savior. Even Peter lost his courage when his gaze fell from Jesus to the stormy waters swirling at his feet. As we observe our situation with our human eyes, our hope can grow weak because we see that there is no possible way we can overcome it. The odds are stacked against us, and our track record of success is less than desirable. This should nudge us to realize what is missing, the only solution to an impossible equation. Wherever there is a lack, God is able to fill it. Our need becomes an flashing arrow pointing to Him, like a prompting on a video game telling us that we are facing the wrong way.

The wonder of it all is that even while our heads are buried in the ground, surrounded by darkness, He still sees us. Though we are “in hiding”, we are not hidden. When when we stand with weak knees, slumped shoulders and drooping heads, He does not take it as an opportunity to sneak away and leave us helpless and vulnerable. Instead of being fed up with our immature antics and telling lack of faith, He stands patiently by, waiting until we are ready to lift our eyes and look at Him again.

“Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God?

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 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.” Isaiah 40:26-31

When our eyes are fixed on Him rather than ourselves or our problems, we will find that He will give us the strength to lift up our heads—and not only that—but He will give us the courage to fly. He has and is everything we need(2 Pet. 1:3), and He has not called us to live defeated or afraid. Rather, He urges us to simply lift up our eyes and trust in Him. We cannot do it ourselves, nor can we rely on others to do it for us. We must keep our eyes fixed on the only One who can save us, the only One through Whom all things are possible, and the only One who will not laugh at or leave us when we find ourselves with our heads in the sand.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2

“Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner; but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will never be dismayed.” Isaiah 51:6

We were never meant to be ostriches. We were meant to be eagles.

Ostrich image courtesy of anankkml at FreeDigitalPhotos.net