In Exodus 19:4, God tells Moses, “You have seen for yourselves how I treated the Egyptians and how I bore you up on eagles’ wings and brought you here to myself.” It is one of two similar references in scripture; the other comes from the prophet Isaiah, which is one of this week’s readings: “They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength; they will soar on eagles’ wings; They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.” Then, of course, is the line from the well-known hymn, On Eagles Wings. . . “…and I will raise you up on eagles wings.” What does all this mean?
The first of the above passages references the past, God reminding Moses how he lifted the people of Israel in their time of need. The entire story of the Exodus is seen as the process of God raising a people from slavery and drawing them close to himself. Israel’s rescue from Egypt is thus not simply salvation from earthly bondage but an elevation to a divine destiny, and the people are reminded that they did not ascend to its present status by its own worthiness but was carried by God.
The other passage references the future, with God providing Isaiah a vision of hope for his people in exile in Babylon. They are being reminded, yet again, that God lifts his people beyond their natural capabilities, beyond the heights they believe they can reach; that God’s grace makes us capable of things we never thought we could accomplish on our own. When we do not believe we have the strength or the gifts to do great things, we do not consider that it is not simply us working but God working in us. And as Jesus tells us in another passage, “For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”
When facing the challenges of living the faith or staring down a seemingly impossible situation, always remember that if you live and act in God’s grace, all things are possible because he will lift you up on eagles’ wings.