The Eagle Christian: His Faith His Family His Foes

On Thanksgiving Eve, November 1955, I regained consciousness in a hospital in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I was aching all over after a horrifying car wreck. When I asked about my family, I was told they had gone to be with the Lord--my wife, two children, and an unborn child. My first response was to say, "Let me die too." My second response was "Why did God do this?" An old preacher said to me, "Young preacher, you're going to have to wait on the Lord." As I studied the Bible for "wait," I came to Isaiah 40:31. It became my life's verse.

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31).

When I took a strong stand against the burning of seven Black churches in our county by the KKK, again I had to wait. They took a contract out on my life in 1968. I was under FBI protection for eighty nights.

To soar like eagles is the goal of every Christian according to the Bible. Eagles, bold in nature, majestic in all they do, relentless in endurance and, above all things, breathtaking in flight--and we are to be like them. Wow!

Of all the birds God created, the eagle is perhaps the most fascinating. The eagle must exercise the wisdom God has given to him as he chooses a mate, disciplines his children, and fights the many natural foes of his life. It is not coincidence that God would liken his believers to such an amazing creature. Riding lofty thermals to the heavenly heights, how can it be that we were also meant to soar on the wings of faith, prayer, and praise to greater heights of spirituality?

Come with this author and take a journey into the mighty eagles' domain, leaving the plains of spiritual mediocrity behind. Come learn what it means to soar with eagles, renewing strength, and being all God desires you to be.