One of David’s favorite images of God is of Him, as it were, spreading His wings over His children to protect them from an enemy like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings when birds of prey are near. This imagery was so real to David that he imagined himself fleeing under God’s protection in times of trouble: “And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by” (Ps. 57:1).
Jesus, with a broken heart, used the same imagery when speaking of Jerusalem: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem… how often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling” (Matt 23:37).
While this is beautiful imagery (because God, of course, doesn’t really have wings or drop feathers into church services), the idea it conveys is TRUE. In times of trouble, calamity, uncertainty, and danger, God watches over His children protectively, gathering us up close into the security of His care. And like David, we soon learn to run into His arms when storms come knocking.
In the last couple of months we have all pulled in close to the protective care of God. All around us the storms have raged and the birds of prey (fear, doubts, worry, and uncertainty) have circled above looking for a vulnerable heart to land on. By God’s grace they have not landed on those seeking the Lord!
And now, thank God, it would appear the clouds are starting to break. The sun is peeking through. The angry waves are shrinking and the howling wind is dying down. I can’t wait to meet once again with God’s people in God’s house on God’s day!