Tough Life
God uses word pictures in scripture to communicate aspects of his nature and ways. Wine skins, lamps, oil, even comparing us to sheep and eagles.
In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft. (Deut. 32:10,11)
There are over 33 scriptures using eagles as the metaphor for insight into our relationship with God and how he interacts with us. In the scripture above, we see God relating to his people with caring, nurturing, and teaching the young eaglet how to mature and fly. We can glean from these insights practical clues on how our father works and how He develops our lives.
As the eagle egg lies in the nest for 30 to 45 days, a couple of amazing things happen. Near the end of this incubation period the eaglet grows a “hatching muscle” by which the neck muscle tighten and strengthen pulling the head upright and back. During this time the eaglet forms an “egg tooth,” an additional formation of cartilage at the end of its beak. These two factors move the eaglet’s head up and towards the inside of the shell surface. With a hardened hammer at the end of its nose, the eaglet starts the “pipping” process, which is the continual pecking of their beak against the shell. The peck, peck, pecking goes on for hours on end. With the strength of the new muscle and the egg tooth, after days of pecking and pecking cracks appear and then break through. It’s a 2 to 3 days constant process for these little eagles.
You and I have seasons of being stretched, where it’s uncomfortable and challenging in our life. We have trials or testing taking place. We can learn from this word picture that we won’t get anywhere by quitting or complaining. We find breakthrough, fresh air and new growth when we keep pecking, pecking, pecking.
To break out you must peck away, keep at it. If you wish to be debt free, peck, peck away by keeping a budget and paying down the debt each month. You desire a great marriage? It takes consistent pecking, not on each other, but on those things that would try to defeat you. How about your walk with God? Daily devotions is pecking, prayer is pecking, being engaged in community is pecking. These are not super sexy or exciting, but it’s consistent healthy choices that overtime bring about amazing breakthrough.
So let’s take some insight from the life of an eagle, and take courage as we do our own “pipping process” in the hard shell of our lives. Don’t stop, don’t quit, keep at it. Breakthrough is coming.
Q: What companies and places do you see the image of an eagle being used?
Q: Right now what is the hardship or tough area in your life that you must keep pecking away at?