Growing Pains

            As an eagle stirs up its nest,
Hovers over its young,
Spreading out its wings, taking them up,
Carrying them on its wings,
So the LORD alone led him.
(Deuteronomy 32:11-12a)

An eaglet lies in the nest, in the rocky heights. At the descent of his mother, the eaglet feels his branchy dwelling stirred. In excitement, he extends his neck to receive the food that his mother has returned with. But this doesn’t last forever. A certain time will come when his mother returns to stir the nest in a different way. She will even take apart the nest branch by branch just so that he and the rest of her young can take the first leap.

For the eaglet, this may seem harsh. He’s never flown before. What if he can’t fly? What if he is simply not ready? What happens when he struggles helplessly in the air?

See what the mother does – she stays close by hovering over her young, spreads out her wings, ready to swoop beneath them and take them up and carry them on her wings. She repeats this process again and again until all the eaglets learn to fly. Slowly but surely, this eaglet will learn that his mother meant well.

Just as an eagle stirs up its nest, God may also take us away from comfort so that we will not become complacent in our journey of faith. When our growth becomes stagnant, God allows us to face hardship and adversity so that He can mold us to fulfill His purpose.

Raised by Pharaoh’s daughter, Moses was privileged with riches and comforts of the palace. So when he chose to depart his place of refuge, he likely had many doubts and fears. But upon entering a life of solitude, this was when God began to mold him to become a great leader.

In suffering, we may not always see God’s abidance or His purpose, but He is there and He means well. Even more so, He patiently lifts us up and carries us each time we can no longer bear it—because He knows it takes time for us to learn and to grow. In His love, He allows us to experience growing pains because He yearns for the day that we can fly.

Questions for Reflection

1.      Do we see God’s purpose in the hardships we experience today?

2.      What lesson does God want us to learn from the difficulties that we carry?