Grace Upon Grace

Take Refuge in the Shelter of Your Wings

I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.  Psalm 61:4

…and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.  Ruth 2:12b

A Word Picture to Remember

Taking shelter under the cover of God’s wings is a beautiful word picture commonly found in the psalms. This image compares God’s tender love and protection to that of a bird, embedding its young in its feathers.  When a baby chick is wrapped in the folds of its mama’s wings, it is covered, shut off, and immune from danger.  Consequently, the baby bird is protected while remaining close to its mother’s heart.  Similarly, we can take refuge in the loving embrace of God, who watches over us and shields us from harm.

A Protective Mama

Recently, I got a glimpse of this spiritual analogy while pruning flowers.  I have four flower baskets filled with geraniums hanging across my front deck.  An automatic drip system waters them.  Even so, they demand some attention as I snip off old growth to make room for new buds.  To my dismay, for a six-week period this summer, my deck was carefully guarded by a mama wren.  If I lingered on the deck for more than a minute as I attended to my flowers, this small but bold bird would appear on the railing and scold me.  The wren would clack annoyingly at me, implying that I needed to back off.  

Amazingly, I never saw a nest or babies.  But obviously the bird was guarding something precious to her and I was a threat.  This mama wren, who probably weighed a few ounces, took a stand against a huge predator—ME.  Now that takes spunk!

Take Refuge in the Shelter of His Wings

In like manner, God desires to protect and shelter us from the enemy.  He is standing guard, just like the mama wren.  When danger gets too close, God invites us to go under cover.  When we are nestled close to God’s heart, we are unshakeable.  Therefore, God encourages us to figuratively take refuge under the shadow of his wings.  Here, we find a place of safety, security, and rest.

Dear God, my Father, you are my safe haven.  Thank you for holding me close to your heart. What amazing love!   Amen.

Questions to Consider:

1. When facing danger, who do your turn to for help? 
2. Describe a time when God protected you in His loving embrace.