By: Mike Kelly
Retired Pastor
“The only bird that dares to peck an eagle is the crow. The crow sits on the eagle’s back and bites its neck. The eagle does not respond or fight with the crow; it does not spend time or energy on the crow.
Instead, it opens its wings and rises higher in the heavens. The higher the flight, the harder it is for the crow to breathe, and eventually, the crow falls off due to a lack of oxygen.
Learn from the eagle, and don’t fight the crows; keep ascending. They might be along for the ride, but they’ll soon fall off. Do not allow yourself to succumb to the distractions; keep your focus on the things above and continue rising!”…source unknown.
Who are the crows in your life? Those that hang on to you and try to defeat you? To stab you in the back? To convince you that you are not capable or strong or wise enough to do what you feel called to do?
Who point out the giants in your land and tells you that you are not able to defeat them? Folks who seem to delight in destroying your confidence.
I’ve seen parents be like those crows, discouraging their children from taking risks. I’ve seen lots of spouses do the same thing out of fear for what will happen if you fail.
I’ve witnessed “friends” attempting to kill dreams because they don’t want to see you succeed above them. But ultimately critical or destructive people only have so much ability to do you harm because the Lord is your shield!
Ps. 28:7 “The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.” We need to be like that eagle with the crow, rather than being distracted and fighting the crows, we need to fly higher toward God.
The closer we get to Him, the less influence these nay-sayers have. The more we focus on God, the giants become manageable and even defeatable. But trying to fly high can be pretty exhausting.
We get tired of the battles, the snide remarks, the confrontations, the unbelief that others try to hang on us. We get tired of the doubters, those who tell us we aren’t needed.
In the very early years of Grace Community Church one local pastor whom I respected, stopped me on the sidewalk downtown and told me in no uncertain terms that the city didn’t need another church.
That hurt, deeply hurt. Was he right? Was I out of God’s will? That’s also what my previous denomination told me in writing when they withdrew my credentials.
I was out of God’s will! For a fairly inexperienced pastor, those were weighty words. They rested heavily on my shoulders.
I was easily discouraged then because I didn’t know for a fact that God had called me to start a church. It was one of those “the only open door” kind of things. But God did and he is faithful.
Isaiah 40:29–31 “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 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.” “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.”
That’s what God did for me and that’s what He’ll do for you if you draw close to Him. And when the crows attack and the giants look too big, fly higher…the crows will fall off and the giants will look smaller.
And your strength will be renewed! The closer we are to God, the more we are renewed and strengthened. It’s not just refreshing to be in God’s close proximity, it’s where we see His purpose and renew our commitment to serve Him regardless of the crows and giants.
PS: that same pastor came to me a number of years later to apologize, saying that the community needed a church that would shake things up to awaken the other churches to the needs of those around us that we as churches could meet.
———————–
Mike Kelly is the founding pastor of Bryan’s Grace Community Church (retired) and Board Chairman of Bryan’s Sanctuary Homeless Shelter and Williams County’s Compassion (free) Medical Clinic.