Of all the birds known to us the eagle is no doubt outstanding and unique. For instance, the eagle never builds its nest in a tree as many birds do, but prefers some inaccessible place such as the face of a cliff. The nest is built large, woven together with great branches and weighs as much as half a ton.

The mother eagle knows when it is time for her eaglets to learn to fly. They must be taught, or else they will never fly.

She gently pushes an eaglet out of the nest until it plunges down the cliff, and then she swoops down just in time to catch the little one on her back then deposits the eaglet back into the nest. She repeats this with each of the eaglets over and over again until they learn to fly.

In the word of God these traits of the eagle are likened to God's care of His people. In the Song of Moses in Deut. 32:11 and also Exodus 19:4, Israel is reminded how God lovingly carried them on eagles wings, so to speak, and delivered them from their enemies. And like the eaglets they had many things to learn.

Once again, the mother eagle knows that her eaglets will never mature as long as they remain dependent and secure in the nest, so the time comes when she pulls apart the nest and makes it uninhabitable. They must enter the adult world, so to speak, and face all of its responsibilities and be independent of mother.

There is a lesson here for all believers; God is out to mature us. We were made to fly not to grovel in the dust of the earth, enslaved by the love of this world. Sometimes God will push us out of our nest and cause us to think all security is lost! God wants us to know that underneath are His everlasting arms, and our security is not in jobs, homes, possessions, or health, but in Him entirely!