The story is told of a man who found an eagle's egg and put it into the nest of a barnyard chicken. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them. All his life, the eagle did what the chickens did. He scratched the dirt for seeds and insects to eat. He clucked and cackled. He flew no more than a few feet off the ground in a chicken-like thrashing of wings and a flurry of feathers. And when thundering storms came the eagle hid in the chicken house with the other chickens.
One day the eagle saw a magnificent bird far above him in a stormy sky. He watched as the bird soared gracefully on the powerful wind currents, gliding through the air.
"What a beautiful bird!", the young eagle said, "What is it called?"
The chicken next to him said, "That's an eagle, the king of all birds. But don't give him any mind. You could never be like him." And with those words, the chicken hurried into the chicken house to get out of the storm.
The young eagle stood mesmerized by the king of the birds soaring on the winds of the storm and he knew that this was a crossroads in his life. There were two choices he could make....
Before I let you know what his choices were, I want you to understand why this story has had such a big impact in my life.
There were many things that happened in my life as a teenager and young adult that led me to believe that I belonged in a chicken yard. And the chicken yard didn't seem all that bad....at first. I had chosen the easy road. And I ran for the chicken house every time a storm rose up in my life. I was hiding. Hiding from myself and from God. Me: "Please don't make me do anything difficult--it's too hard. I just want everything to be easy." But, the only reward that came with taking the easy road, was just that....it was easy. I kept getting farther and farther from God as storms raged around me and I hid deeper and deeper in the chicken house. Me: "Who will save me! Who will rescue me! It's dark in here. And it smells pretty bad!"
I felt like I wasn't good enough most of the time and as hard as I tried I couldn't dig myself out of the hole I was in. I was afraid...and I was alone. Don't get me wrong. I was surrounded by people. I had many friends, but most of them weren't leading a christian life. They drank---a lot, they were sometimes unkind to other people, and they spent a lot of time worrying about what would make THEM happy. And I did these things right along with them. Me: "I want to be happy! Someone PLEASE make me happy....and bring me a drink!!!!"
I felt empty most of the time and I tried to fill that emptiness with all the wrong things. You see, there was a God-shaped hole in my heart and only He could fill that space and make me whole.
The good news is: You don't have to be like me, you don't have to wait until you've tried all the wrong answers to find the right one. God is wherever you are now and He loves you and wants to have a relationship with you. You don't have to go through anything alone. When you ask Jesus to come into your heart, people will show up in the path of your life that will help you to grow. But, the best part is that as you mature as a christian, you will get to be one of those people for someone else who needs you.
Now, back to our young eagle and the choice the he had to make. The first choice: He could run inside the chicken house with the rest of the chickens and return to pecking the dirt for seeds after the storm passed and die believing that he was a barnyard chicken.
OR....he could go where his heart was urging him to go and join the other eagle as he flew higher and higher on the winds of the storm.
The eagle's choice? He spread his mighty wings to their full width and the wind's current propelled him upward. He rose higher and higher until he soared into the clouds. He never returned to the chicken yard again.
Isaiah 40:31 "But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint."
Ask God where it is that he wants you in this life and don't be afraid to go there. Get out of the chicken yard and soar with the eagles.
No comments:
Post a Comment