Don’t Leave the Nest

I listened to an interesting talk by Joel Osteen the other day, and I’d like to share a bit about what he said. His talk was about faith and remaining hopeful for how God might work in our lives, even when we aren’t seeing much progress or movement. It was an interesting time in my life to listen to this kind of talk, as we have been struggling with infertility.

The Eagle and the Nest

He talked about the example of a mother eagle in her nest. When a mother eagle lays an egg, she has to sit on the egg for 35 days before the baby eaglet hatches. If the mother eagle doesn’t sit on the egg the whole time, the temperature of the egg won’t be right and the baby eaglet won’t develop normally.

No Evidence

Interestingly, the mother eagle doesn’t get any external signs that the baby eaglet is developing. It’s not like a human pregnancy, where you can see the mother’s stomach growing and feel the baby kick. The mother eagle doesn’t get any feedback that that the baby eaglet is growing. She has to take it on faith.

In our own lives, we might have situations that are similar to this. We are hoping for something we want God to do in our lives, but we haven’t seen any external “evidence” that God is working. We don’t see much (or anything) happening. It would be easy to give up and “leave the nest.”

Keep Faith

Joel encouraged us to keep faith, even when we aren’t seeing any progress. In a way, that’s what faith is—the confidence for things not yet seen. If we could see evidence of everything progressing step by step, we wouldn’t need faith. If you’re struggling right now, the encouragement is to keep moving forward in faith. Be like the mother eagle, who, even though she didn’t see the evidence of her baby developing, she still moved forward and did what she needed to do. She sat on the egg and kept it warm for 35 days.

Struggling with Faith

I have to be honest—I struggle with this. I’m a scientist at heart. I’m a researcher. I want to see all the evidence before I put my faith in something. I was trained to be skeptical. At the same time, I want to believe that God is moving and active, even though I don’t necessarily see it right now. I want to move forward in faith, believing that God loves me and wants my best.

Keep Moving Forward

Maybe the key is to keep moving forward, even if we have doubts. I may struggle to see God moving in my life, but can I still be like the mother eagle and move forward anyways? Can I display my faith through my actions, even if my belief wavers? No matter how I “feel” today, can I do what needs to be done and not leave the nest?