“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 grow faint.”
Recently, I heard a great inspirational teaching on Isaiah 40:31 and the life of the eagle. This story was about the rebirth or renewing of the eagle. Like anything else, eagles grow old, they get tired and weary. They sharpen their beaks and talons on a rock. Then the bird plucks out its feathers and goes to the highest place near the sun to wait for the new feathers to grow in. The analogy is that spiritually and physically we grow tired and weary. We need to go to the Rock to renew our strength. We need to wait on the Lord for Him to renew us and refresh us. Wow…that was so great, I thought I could use this for next week’s bible verse and a science lesson for the kids, so I started searching for more about the great eagle!
To my dismay, I ended up on snopes.com with the rebirth of the eagle story that has been circulating as just an ‘inspirational story’ for several years, and the facts are simply not reality of an eagle’s life! I was very disappointed to this discovery, but God put my search to use and showed me something that I found even more amazing!
In contradiction to the story I heard, the eagle does NOT pluck out its feathers. In fact, if he did, he would be completed unprotected and more than likely die from starvation, as he could not fly. Instead all birds go through the molting process. Their wings do in fact get old and worn out and need to be replaced. This process of molting is specific too. Each feather comes from a feather follicle, like the hair on a mammal. When the feather is first emerging and developing it has a blood supply coming from the body going up into the shaft. If it is broken or pulled out before the molting process, it is not only very painful, but could cause the bird to bleed to death. The molting starts when the feathers are completely developed and is also done in a symmetrical pattern! If a primary feather is molted on the left wing, the same exact feather is molted simultaneously on the right wing thus ensuring balance in flight for the bird while it hunts during the molting process.
I love the facts behind this even more, because it shows us the bird, in fact, has NOTHING to do with his renewal! God, who created the eagle, causes the molting process to happen. It happens only when the feathers are completely developed and ready to be replaced and He causes it to happen in a way the eagle still has all the tools he needs to continue in his life. God never gives us anything we can’t handle! If you stop and think how intricate a process that is that just happens, you will be in awe of the One who created you! He loves the birds enough to take care of these tiny details, how much more does He love his children.
The greatest analogy is that while we are ‘molting’, going through financial crisis, heartbroken over lost relationships, dealing with physical illness, or struggling to molt bad habits….it is never more than God knows we can handle. He still gives us what we need to not grow tired and weary, but instead to be able to soar with wings like eagles, because of our hope in the Lord….and that is NOT an urban legend!
