When God Stirs the Nest

Deuteronomy 32:11–12

There are seasons when God allows life to become unsettled. Things that once felt secure begin to change. Doors close, circumstances shift, and the comfortable place we have grown accustomed to no longer feels quite as comfortable. In Deuteronomy 32, Moses gives us a beautiful picture of what God may be doing in those moments: “As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings…”

An eagle’s nest is meant to be a place of safety, but it was never intended to be the permanent home of the young eagle. Eventually, the nest must be stirred. In much the same way, God sometimes stirs what has become comfortable.

We naturally prefer security. Israel discovered that in the wilderness. When the journey became difficult, they began looking backward toward Egypt. They remembered what had been familiar and temporarily forgot what God had delivered them from. We can do the same thing. Sometimes the familiar feels safer simply because we know it.

Throughout Scripture, however, God repeatedly called people to leave what was familiar. Abraham left Ur. Israel left Egypt. Peter stepped out of the boat. Faith often requires us to trust God beyond the boundaries of what feels comfortable.

But there is another important truth in Moses’ picture: God never stirs the nest and then abandons His children. The same eagle that disturbs the nest also “spreadeth abroad her wings.” God may lead us into unfamiliar territory, but He doesn't send us there alone.

That truth had already been demonstrated throughout Israel’s history. God reminded them in Exodus 19:4, “I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.” They had experienced circumstances in which their own strength wasn't enough, but God's strength was.

That brings us to perhaps the most comforting part of the picture: when our strength fails, His does not. The young eagle may discover that its wings aren't yet as strong as it imagined. But beneath it are the wings of the one that stirred the nest in the first place.

There will be moments when we don't understand what God is doing. We may wish He would simply put everything back the way it was. Yet sometimes God isn't trying to restore the nest to its former condition. He is leading us somewhere beyond it.

Instead of only praying, “Lord, make everything comfortable again,” perhaps our prayer needs to become, “Lord, help us recognize where You are leading, and give us the faith to follow.”

When life is being stirred, the most important question may not be, “How can I get things back to the way they were?” It may be, “Lord, where are You leading me?”

When God shelters the nest, trust Him. When God settles the nest, thank Him. And when God stirs the nest, follow Him.