Jentezen Franklin (March 16, 2025) Daily Devotional: Soar Above It.
“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak…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.” Isaiah 40:29-31
Did you know that 41 percent of the birds in New Zealand can’t fly? Why, you ask? Because there are no predators on the island of New Zealand. These birds have no need to fly because they never face opposition. In the same way, you are never going to “mount up with wings as eagles” if you never have any opposition. Opposition enables you to do greater things because it lifts up your prayer life and makes you more dependent on God. God intends for the winds of opposition to take you higher.
In 1993, the United States Army sent a special force to Somalia to nab a drug Lord. The Blackhawk helicopter was shot down, and many soldiers were taken hostage. Another team was sent to recover the men, and they found themselves completely outnumbered, with bullets flying from every direction. At one point, the captain in charge yells to a lieutenant, “Get in the truck and drive. We’ve got to get out of here!” But the lieutenant replies, “But Captain, I’m shot!” The captain then shouts, “Everybody’s shot. Shut up, get in the truck and drive.”
We have all been wounded. We have all had somebody do something to us that has offended or hurt us. That doesn’t give you license to whine, complain, victimize yourself, and camp in that ditch for months or even years. You have to get over it and move on. Despite being wrongfully imprisoned, beaten, and even stoned, the Apostle Paul didn’t sit around feeling sorry for himself. He said, “None of these things move me. I’m more than a conqueror, and I don’t give up.” Job lost everything and everybody he loved, but he said, “Nevertheless, blessed be the name of the Lord! I will praise him when he’s giving, and I will praise him when he’s taking away.” The number one goal of the enemy is to get you mad at God. If he can make you doubt the goodness of God, then he has won.
Proverbs 24:10 says, “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.” You can’t allow offense or wounds to make you lay down in self-pity and give up. Jesus, your Captain is saying to you today, “Get in the truck and drive.”
