Society, our circumstances, and our peers are constantly trying to make us conform to what they are. Guard yourselves, be
careful who you associate with, do not be conformed to what they are.
We are all familiar with the fable or the eaglet raised as a chicken, I want to share what the Lord has shown me about how we as humans are very similar to the eaglet in this story.
Sometimes you may feel like you were
born into the wrong family, placed somewhere where you feel like everyone is
trying to clip your wings and keep you from soaring. You are an eagle amongst a
society of chickens. You need to look at it from a different perspective… You have
the courage, strength, and independence of an eagle. The only thing that is
keeping you in the coop is the opinions, and mindsets of the chicken community.
God designed you to fly
like an eagle, and soaring is a gift, a privilege that has been graciously given
to you to use daily. Unwrap this gift and use it, don’t allow yourself to load
up with burdens, don’t allow others to heap their burdens upon you. You were
created to soar, even in the midst of storms.
Trust what God has placed in your
spirit and you heart. You were created for more than scratching at the ground
in the middle of a chicken coop waiting for everything to be handed to you. You
have the fortitude, strength and ability to take flight and soar into your
destiny.
Don’t allow the chickens to talk you out of it, they will be negative,
they will judge you and make fun of you. But you know deep down you have the
courage of a lion, the independence of a black panther, the strength of an
African elephant.
Isaiah 40:30-31 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
As
the story goes, a farmer took an egg from an eagle’s nest and laid it under a
hen to be hatched. This eagle realized something was wrong deep down inside,
but all he knew was the life he was born into. The eagle would stare at the sky
wanting to fly and even tried on numerous occasions. The farmer saw the eaglet trying
to take flight, so he went looking for his clippers to clip the eaglet’s wings.
As the farmer was searching for his tools; his wife called out to him from the
house. She needed his help right away. This was a welcome distraction for the eaglet
he escaped the terror of his wings being clipped.
One day a storm brewed and the chickens scurried about in fear,
but the eagle did not feel any fear. He simply watched the chickens and other
barnyard animals run and hide from the storm. A big gust of wind came along
while the eagle stood alone in the barnyard and the eagle, having noticed the
farmer forgot to clip his wings, with wings stretched out. He looked up at the
sky and saw another eagle.
The eagle that was raised as a chicken looked at the fearful
chickens and looked at the eagle gracefully soaring in the sky. The eagle in
the sky let out a mighty cry. The sound of the cry moved the eagle to flap his
wings and with a big gust of wind, the eagle that was raised as a chicken flew
high above the clouds and left the chicken yard never to return!
We live in a world that encourages chicken behavior. Not to take
away from the chickens. They have a purpose too. But all too often an eagle
with misplaced identity wonders around feeling insecure, lonely, and doubtful
because he knows deep down inside him, he is something more. He does not look
like a chicken, nor sound like a chicken. He just does not know who he is yet.
When the eagle flapped his wings and realized he could fly,
nothing could stop him. He knew he had the power and the means to go to the
next level. I am sure the chickens looked at one another and thought, if he can
do it so can I. Take a second and imagine
what they looked like trying to fly from the barnyard. (Makes me giggle
thinking about it).
You are an eagle in the chicken yard. You know people will
want to hold you back, but they will not. You know you are better than your
circumstances. You know your path is not the same as others. When you know you
are an eagle your breakthrough is only the beginning of all God has in store of
you. But don’t look down at the chickens (surroundings).
Why
the farmer took the eagle from his natural habitat, no one knows for sure. The
farmer wanted to clip the eagle’s wings wanting to keep him down, but as the
scripture says, what was meant for harm, God used it for good. Many of us know
what it feels like to be an eagle stuck in a chicken coop. You may be in a
situation, very similar, BUT GOD. You were designed to stand out among the chickens,
choose to do so today! Stretch out your wings; use this storm to propel you
into your next season.
You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He
brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.
Genesis 50:20 (NLT)
