Rocky Road Devotions: Protected

Monday, November 9, 2020

O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy. I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night. Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely. Psalm 63:1-8

There are so many images in this short Psalm teaching us the meaning of being protected under the shadow of God’s wings:

· Searching and thirsting for more of God’s presence

· Seeing God’s power and glory

· Realizing how a relationship with God surpasses anything life offers

· Lifting up hands in prayer as a matter of praise

· Satisfied

· Lying awake because God’s presence is just too overwhelmingly wonderful

· Singing under the wings

· Clinging for joy because you’re securely held

Today two of those are where my heart is stirred most, lifting hands in prayer, and singing under the wings. I cannot possibly estimate the number of times I have sung the hymn “Under His Wings” either in worship or just riding down the road. The words are not merely rhyme, set to music; they are images of safety and song, the kind of which is not for sale at any price. It is being loved by God.

Under His wings I am safely abiding.

Tho' the night deepens and tempests are wild,

Still I can trust Him; I know He will keep me.

He has redeemed me, and I am His child.
Under His wings, under His wings, Who from His love can sever?
Under His wings my soul shall abide, Safely abide forever.^[3]

There are so many images of being securely held, so that no harm can befall, and love can be fully expressed. There are parental images, a mother’s loving embrace of her child, or the father’s strong hands holding off any harm. There is the power of a mighty force of angels, unseen by human eyes, but battling behind the scenes of this dimension to clear our pathway through life. And sometimes it is we who energize the trust of another, standing in the gap for a friend, providing help or even life-sustaining food for a homeless person.

There are times when a surge of the understanding of God’s love and care so overwhelms us that we must sing, we are compelled to lift holy hands in praise and thanksgiving.

For me, this morning, that is one of those times. Nothing particularly unusual has happened to start that effusive prayer of thanksgiving, but, in the just-before-dawn moment, when I see the sun’s lift of the night veil, and the images of my garden’s shapes begin to show me the darkness is now passing, and the light of a new day begins, there is such a sense of thanksgiving for the goodness of God.

This praise is not just because we have been blessed with a nice spot to see every day, or the house we live in, or a thousand other blessings bestowed on the likes of one family; rather it is the abiding; it is Christ’s abiding presence. It is as Fanny Crosby wrote, blessed assurance, Jesus is mine which helps me see those wings of protection, the love and everlasting arms of Holy God, wrapped around a sinful human child who needs Him more than my next breath.

For You Today

You may reside in the most beautiful country setting, you may live in the city, or be confined to a bed in a nursing home. Life’s circumstances do not define who you are; they are shifting shadows on the outside of who you are. If you belong to God, forgiven and included in His forever family you are under His wings. Those circumstances are under the control of the loving God who created you. When that is the truth that overwhelms your soul protected is what you know all day long.