Umbilical cord that is called trust.

Isaiah 40:31 (ESV)

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.

In New Zealand you can see a special contraption that looks like a hang glider. The device is connected by an extreme extra-long cord, to a motor boat. The speed of the boat keeps it up in the air, guiding it through the wide open space of the sky.

People are actually flying without the aid of a motor, and had effortlessly reached the heights of the sky. And as long as they stayed connected to the speed boat via the umbilical-looking attachment, they would never fall.

Just like these people, we, as Christians, can soar way up high, just like eagles! But we, too, have to rely on an "umbilical" cord that attaches us to our Maker and Savior. This "umbilical" cord is called trust.

But trust doesn't come too easily, especially nowadays.

To trust completely we have to set aside our pride, as well as all of our petty preoccupations. We have to put our entire focus on the person we trust. Only then can we soar way up to heights we would never have imagined. Gone are the addictions. Gone are the worries. Gone is any selfishness and unforgiveness.

"Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matt 6:33-34 NIV)

This is where we can go wrong. We get attracted by our own obsessions that we never find the time to start trusting anyone, much less the one many sadly call the "Man upstairs". And that's where we continue to live a mundane life with all its whistles called addictions attached to it.

We all fall short of the assured promise: "All these things will be given to you as well."

It seems to be human nature that as soon as we are experiencing any kind of soaring in the heights of the sky, we immediately take out our pocket knife and severe the cord that keeps us in the air. "We can do it by ourselves" we claim, only to discover over and over again that it is not so, after we crash.

If we only took the time, we might realize one day that "soaring like eagles" is truly a reality for those who set aside their pride. "God can do anything, you know - far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us." (Eph 3:20)

We can fly like eagles, but only if we truly stay connected to God in all humility with the "umbilical" cord called total trust.

Dear Lord, thank You for being our Creator and our Savior. Thank You that You have made it possible for us to fly above all the mediocrity of this life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

Have you cut the umbilical cord?

Isaiah 40:31 (NIV)

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.

I saw a video on Facebook of two people flying in a special contraption that looked like a minimized hang glider. The device was connected however, by an extreme extra-long cord, to a motor boat. The speed of the boat kept it up in the air, guiding it through the wide open space of the sky.

They were actually flying without the aid of a motor, and had effortlessly reached the heights of the sky. And as long as they stayed connected to the speed boat via the umbilical-looking attachment, they would never fall.

It is this that reminded me of my favorite passage in the Bible: "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." Is 40:31

Just like these people, we, as Christians, can soar way up high, just like eagles! But we, too, have to rely on an "umbilical" cord that attaches us to our Maker and Savior. This "umbilical" cord is called trust.

But trust doesn't come too easily, especially nowadays.

To trust completely we have to set aside our pride and our preoccupations. We have to put our entire focus on the person we trust. Only then can we soar way up to heights we would never have imagined. Gone are the addictions. Gone are the worries. Gone are any selfishness and unforgiveness.

This is where most of us go wrong. We are so attracted by our own wants that we never find the time to start trusting anyone, much less our Father in Heaven.  And that's where we continue to live a mundane life.

We all fall short of the assured promise: "All these things will be given to you as well."

It seems to be human nature that as soon as we are experiencing any kind of soaring in the heights of the sky, we immediately take out our pocket knife and severe the cord that keeps us in the air. "We can do it by ourselves" we claim, only to discover over and over again that it is not so, after we crash.

We can fly like eagles, but only if we truly stay connected to God in all humility with the "umbilical" cord called total trust.

Dear Lord, we pray that we would trust You. When we are trying to do it on our own help us turn back to You and trust You so that we indeed can fly like the eagles. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.