Under the Shadow of His Wings

"Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by."
(Psalm 57:1)

I want you to picture a mother hen and her baby diddles. When something frightens her babies, they INSTINCTIVELY run and hide beneath the wing of their mother.

Now, apply that analogy to your Heavenly Father.

In Ezekiel 16:8, the Lord reminds the children of Israel that when He entered into covenant with them, He spread His wing over them to cover their nakedness - their vulnerabilities, their disgrace. Everything that pertains to the children of Israel, pertains to us as Believers. We have been covered by His wing as well.

And we can run to the shelter of His wing during frightening times, just like the baby diddles run to their mother.

The Lord God's wing is a place of refuge. The Hebrew word for refuge is machseh (mahch-seh). It refers to a PLACE of hope or a PLACE of trust. When we run to our Father, He hides us under the shadow of His wing - a place of hope, a place of trust...

...until the calamity has passed us by.

Lord, help us to understand how precious this is. There is no place I would rather be when I am frightened or overwhelmed than under the shadow of Your wing. That places me near to Your heart. I can feel the safety, the assurance...the warmth. And I can hear the rhythmic beating of Your heart declaring Your love for me. Thank You for Your tenderness towards Your children.