Episode 81

When it comes to New Year Resolutions, by now, there are only four options. Either you are well on your way to accomplishing the task you set out, or they’ve flopped, or you didn’t make any, or, the fourth option is that you just need some encouragement to keep going. This is episode # 81 and you’re listening to Living the Freedom Life.

We have been talking about New Year Resolutions for a few episodes now and though you may grow tired of the topic, we deal with this topic or concept of Resolutions every day. See, in some arenas, it’s called a Resolution, in other circles, it’s called a goal, while sometimes we make (all throughout the year) we make statements like “I need to be more….” fill in the blank here. That is what we do here at Kyle McMurray Coaching. 

After making those well-intentioned New Year resolutions, what do you think usually happens around this time of year? After we are a few weeks in and the honeymoon has worn off, a little reality has set in. We get busy, we begin to make excuses, we start to feel the monkey on our back, there’s little nitpicking thoughts that come. 

This reminds me of the story about an eagle.  An eagle is the symbol of our nation, powerful, strong, wise, majestic and well, something you don’t want to mess with. Like a lion is the King of the jungle, I suppose the Eagle is at the top of the food chain in the air. If you’ve ever been to a zoo and seen an eagle up close, when you see the size of those talons and that sharp beak, you’ll be convinced, there’s not much of anything an Eagle can’t accomplish in its surroundings. They’re equipped to conquer.

I’ve been in the High Country and I saw this for myself in the wild. Do you know the only bird that will mess with an Eagle is a crow? Now, Crows are pretty smart. They’ve been shown to remember human faces and quickly assess what and who is a threat.

Here is what they do. Crows are also very particular about their territory. When they see something as big as an eagle landing on what they feel is their turf, they think it’s a threat and they attack.

In comparison the Eagle is about three times the size of a Crow so the Crow can maneuver quickly and land on the Eagle’s back. 

A Crow will hitch a ride, in mid air and start pecking at the Eagle’s neck to send a message, so to speak.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel as if I have something pecking on my neck when I’m trying to concentrate.

Here is something that I’ve learned from an Eagle in that situation. Even though the eagle is well-equipped to conquer and get rid of the problem, he chooses to fight a more efficient way.

He fights with his unique set of skills. He doesn’t use the same weapons that are being used against him. 

We don’t fight with flesh and blood we fight against principalities. Eph 6:12  

You are made after God’s image. If God is infinitely strong and powerful, then you have your own unique set of skills that He has given you. 

You probably heard statements like “rise above it” and “take the high road”. That’s what if Asian six is talking about. Giving us the ability to rise above it, to put on the armor of God. I encourage you to read the entire chapter of Ephesians 6. because at the end, the only thing that Paul says is give me the boldness to speak as I ought to speak. When we use the armor of God, the word of the Lord, truth, the gospel of peace, all of these things, just like the eagle.

 See, what happens with the eagle is that he begins to fly upwards. The crow is still on his back, but he continues to fly higher. The higher he flies, the harder it is for the crow to breathe.  Soon, the crow will fall. 

Here is where we get confused and fooled. Let’s say we’ve been walking with the Lord for a while. We see His strength in us and we begin to notice our huge talons, our sharp beak and our size. Then one day, we do something as simple as land in an area and take a break. For some reason, unknown to us, here come some crows. We know we have the advantage in the air so we take off flying. The temptation will be to show our strength.

Yeah, there may be times where you get pecked in the neck. It’s annoying and it can hurt. 

But, just like the eagle, don’t waste your time on the crows. The freeing thing is when you realize they don’t have anything you need. 

The oxygen may be thin for them, but this atmosphere is what you’re made for. Just take them to your heights, and watch them fall by the thousands. Just like we read in Psalm 91:7-16.

Spiritual warfare seems so mystical. It’s not. Another thing about spiritual warfare is that it’s not weird. Read Ephesians 6 and you’ll see.

We are out of time, but I want to encourage you that you have a unique set of skills given by our creator. The way you fight back, may not look like what you think it does. But when you begin to soar upward, when you begin using your unique set of skills, you will be Living the Freedom Life.