EAGLE'S WINGS JUNE 2026

“The LORD called to [Moses] out of the mountain, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself’” (Exodus 19:3-4). 

God spoke these words to Moses about three months after He freed the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. Now that they were delivered safely out of Egypt’s predatorial grip they could take a sigh of relief and reflect on their remarkable deliverance. God declared to Moses and the Israelites that He bore them on eagles’ wings. God carried His covenant people through ten catastrophic plagues and then performed the dramatic Red Sea rescue that ultimately broke Pharoah, his army, and the nation of Egypt. Only the All-Powerful, Merciful God could perform such a feat—on eagle’s wings.

Shortly after we moved into our residence in Marysville almost three years ago, we discovered that we lived about fifty yards from a huge eagle’s nest. It’s perched high in the branches of a tree, about 75 feet from the ground along the Jim Simmons Trail. In the wintertime we can view the nest easily through the bare trees and bushes but after the season transitions into mid-to-late spring and the leaves on all the trees in the area come out, our view of the nest is diminished dramatically. Did you know the record for the largest eagle’s nest ever documented, is one in St. Petersburg, Florida, measuring 9.5 feet in diameter, 20 feet deep, and weighing over two tons? I don’t think our local eagle’s nest is quite that large but it’s very sizeable (or at least it was)!

I took this picture yesterday and you can barely see the nest!

Often during different times of the year, we view one or both eagles (they mate for life and are monogamous) sitting majestically in their safe, roomy abode surveying their avian fiefdom and protecting their family. Earlier this year as I was jogging along the trail in front of our eagle neighbors’ nest I looked up and saw a smaller bird hovering next to it. All of the sudden, from seemingly nowhere one of our proud eagle parents soared down toward his abode and with his or her wing gently but assertively knocked the potential intruder out of the way as if to say, “this is my house, my family lives here, you have no business being here; next time I find you loitering next to my home it won’t go so well for you!” –eagles’ wings.

The American bald eagle’s wingspan is six to eight feet and allows them to soar while hunting; this long wingspan also helps the eagle to glide and conserve energy during flight. Their strong wings and talons enable them to carry prey almost equal to their own weight! Eagles are certainly amazing birds and are a testimony to God’s multifaceted, diverse creation. As the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 104, “O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all…”

Early this April when severe, high-speed wind gusts hit our neighborhood, our eagles’ nest was damaged severely. Krystal, my wife walked by the nest a day or so after the storm and reported back to me that it looked as if two-thirds of the nest’s height had been blown away. I went by there a day or so later and noticed that the nest was indeed hit hard. We wondered if the eagles and eaglets (if they had any this year) were okay.

Then another day when we visited the area, we saw one of our old friends sitting on a branch near the damaged nest. This eagle looked as majestic and dignified as ever. In subsequent trips by the aerie, we have noticed that the nest is slowly returning to its original form and height. Our eagle friends didn’t allow storms and wind to daunt their spirits and cause them to retreat. Eagles are strong, loyal, fiercely determined creatures that will stand their ground in the face of catastrophe and summon up all the survival instincts their Creator has equipped them with to surmount storms and tempests and thrive.

God uses the image of the eagle and eagles’ wings to communicate to us about His loving, dependable care for His church and His people. We never know when severe winds of trial and destruction may hit us and fracture our lives. One of my colleagues, much younger than me, from a former church affiliation, just posted on Facebook that because of untreated, prolonged high blood pressure he’s in kidney failure and was put on dialysis. Churches and individual Christians in Nigeria are now facing intense persecution. Roving Islamic death squads may visit a village at any time, even when Christians are at worship and turn the Divine Service into a bloodbath! You may be enduring a brutal diagnosis and are wondering how you will make it through the treatments and potential suffering. You may look at your church attendance in 2026 compared to 1986 and lament the forty years of relentless decline. You may wonder if your beloved church family will survive the demographic, sociological, and cultural shifts it has encountered and continue to keep its doors open.  Remember our God is loyal and faithful, strong and merciful. On Easter Jesus Christ our Savior burst from the tomb and showed Himself alive after bearing the sins of the world on His wings as He hung on Calvary’s Cross. On eagles’ wings our Lord will bear us up all and His Church through whatever ordeals we may face.

I love to sing the hymn “On Eagle’s Wings.” Here’s a couple of verses,

You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord,

        who abide in this shadow for life,

        say to the Lord: "My refuge,

        my rock in whom I trust!"

Refrain

        And he will raise you up on eagle's wings,

        bear you on the breath of dawn,

        make you to shine like the sun,

        and hold you in the palm of his hand.

2     The snare of the fowler will never capture you,

        and famine will bring you no fear;

        under God's wings your refuge,

        with faithfulness your shield.

Refrain

And he will raise you up on eagle's wings,

bear you on the breath of dawn,

make you to shine like the sun,

and hold you in the palm of his hand.

Pastor Kurt Luebkeman