Feathers, Feathers…and more Feathers!

When you picture a flying bird, it's not usually a chicken that comes to mind,  or is it? I've never seen a chicken described in flight....lots of eagles, but no chickens. 

We find in Isaiah 40:31 that scripture tells us..."they shall mount up with wings like eagles." There is a difference between being on His wings and being under His wings.

We also find in Psalm 91:4 it's not describing the flying wing but the sheltering wing. One indicates strength, while the other signifies protection. Can you imagine the warmth of a nest and the security of being under the wings of the nurturing love of a mother hen with chicks, it paints a clear picture of the sheltering wing of God's protection.
Let me ask this question, "Is everyone protected under the wings?" Psalm 91:4 says, "He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge."  It certainly sounds like it to me, although it's up to us to make that decision! We can seek refuge under His wings if we choose to. Imagine that..we have a choice!

There's a story that's been told that gives us a picture of what it means to seek refuge under His wings. The story goes like this:

A mother hen hatched a brood of baby chickens. One afternoon when they were scattered all over the yard, suddenly there was the shadow of a hawk overhead. The mother hen did not run to those little chicks and jump on top of them to try to cover them with her wings. Of course not....within her she knew the position she had to take in order to protect and secure the safety of her little chicks.

Instead, she squatted down, spread out her wings and began to cluck. And those little chickens, from every direction, came running to her to get under those outstretched wings. She then pulled her wings down tight, tucking every little chick safely under her. To get to those babies, the hawk would have to go through the mother.

Wait an amazing picture  we can see...likened as our Heavenly Father and His protection from harms way, towards us.

When I think of those baby chicks running to their mother, I realize it is under His wings that we  seek refuge….but we have to run to Him, first. "He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall seek refuge." Those two little words will & shall  are strong words! It certainly is up to us! All that mother hen did was cluck and expand her wings to tell her chicks where to come.

Scripture also shows the maternal hovering side to His protection. "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.NASB

Notice the contrast between God's willingness and our unwillingness: His wanting and our not willing to … His would against our would not. 

What an amazing analogy to show us that He offers protection that we don't accept!

It is interesting that Jesus uses the correlation of maternal love to demonstrate His attachment to us. There is certain fierceness to motherly love we cannot overlook. God is deeply committed to us…yet at the same time, we can reject His outstretched arms if we so choose. 

God's not running all over the place trying to cover us.Psalm 71:1 "I have made protection possible. You run to Me!"  And when we run to Him in faith, the enemy then has to go through God to get to us!  Wow…what a comforting scripture.

I'd like to leave you with yet another illustration that I read recently of God's protection: There was a man who  hijacked a car. The woman who was driving the car had been studying Psalm 91 at church, but in the trauma of the moment, she only remembered there was something about being under the protection of His wings, so she began to holler, 

"Feathers, Feathers!!"

 The assailant was so stunned by her reaction that he stopped in his tracks, turned on his heels, and fled for his life.

So the question we ask ourselves is how do we put this promise to work? Since we can't physically run to God, how do we seek His protection? As was illustrated by the analogy to the mother hen and her precious little chicks, how can we put this promise into practice in our own life, daily?  

We must first run to God, with our prayer life, by speaking to Him; we must run to God with our hearts to seek Him in His word; we must run to God with our faith....like those little chicks it was instinctive... they ran back to their mother to take cover under those feathers. 

When you feel the enemy soaring all around you...run...run fast towards your Heavenly Father who truly keeps His eyes on you.... no matter how far you may be...He will cover you under His feathers.... when you run to Him!

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Thanks for stopping by ‘Today’s Word of Purpose”.... and remember to keep Him close to your heart.

Love Deb