Do You Want To Be A Duck Or Eagle?

Don’t Give up on yourself

Isaiah 40:31

Do you want to be a Duck or Eagle?

Harvey Mackay was waiting in line for a taxi at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie and freshly pressed black slacks, Wally the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back door. Harvey noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside spotlessly clean. As Wally slid behind the wheel, he said, "Would you like a cup of coffee?" Harvey said, "No, I’d prefer a soft drink." Wally smiled and said, "No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice." Almost stuttering, Harvey said, "I’ll take a Diet Coke." Handing Harvey his drink, Wally said, "If you’d like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today." As the taxi pulled away from the curb, Wally handed Harvey a laminated card and said, "These are the stations I get and the music they play if you’d like to listen to the radio." As if that weren’t enough, Wally told Harvey the air conditioning was on and asked if the temperature was comfortable. The driver then advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. Wally also let Harvey know that he’d be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts. "Tell me, Wally," the amazed passenger asked, "have you always served customers like this?" Wally smiled and looked in the rear view mirror. "No, not always. In fact, it’s only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard Wayne Dyer on the radio saying that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you’ll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, ‘Stop complaining. Distinguish yourself from your competition. Don’t be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd." "So I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers unfriendly and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more." "I take it that has paid off for you," Harvey said. "It sure has," Wally replied. "My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year, I’ll probably quadruple it." Wally the cab driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like a duck and to start soaring like an eagle. Harvey Mackay.

IS 40:31 “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles,

They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind.

There is story about a farmer who took an eagle egg and placed it in his hen’s nest. So the eagle was raised like a chicken. Try as he wanted he always had trouble trying to be a chicken. His heart kept telling him that some thing was not right. Much of the time he was lonely because he did not fit in. One time he tried to take off by flapping his wings and the farmer caught him and clipped his wings. This eagle kept looking up to the sky and felt he should be up there. One day as a storm came all the chickens were afraid and ran for cover. The little eagle was not afraid and he faced the storm. Time had passed since the farmer had clipped his wings and so they were able to be used. The eagle flapped his wings and he was able to take off. He heard the cry of another eagle up in the sky to which he flew to. He was out of the chicken yard forever. I like this story because it tells us that we can break free from anything that is holding us back from being what God intended for us to be. God has a purpose for you and He does not want us to stay in the barn yard. I am not saying it is easy for it will take hard work, taking risks, enduing loneliness, leave some things behind, make hard decisions, be misunderstood, be judged and criticized to enjoy the fullness of God in your life. As an eagle is uncomfortable in a chicken yard so you will be uncomfortable if you are not seeking to be all God wants you to be. Don’t be content to be in a barnyard when God has the blue open skies for you to fly through. Your hunger to be more than you are is a God given hunger found only with life in Him.