Taking Shelter Under God's Wings

Last night I again came across a few verse that talked about taking shelter under God's wings. Psalms 91:1-4 says, "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust!" For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark."

This reminded me of a devotional I read a few days ago.

"Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young, He spread His wings and caught them, He carried them on His Pinions." Deuteronomy 33:11

The mother eagle had tried by every means to induce the little one to leave the nest, but he was afraid.

"Suddenly, as if discouraged, she rose well above him. I held my breath, for I knew what was coming. The little fellow stood on the edge of the nest, looking down at the plunge which he dare not take. There was a sharp cry from behind which made him alert, tense as a watch-spring. The next instant the mother eagle had swooped, striking the nest at his feet, sending his support of twigs and himself with them out into the air together.

"He was afloat now, afloat on the blue air in spite of himself, and flapped lustily for life. Over him, under him, beside him, hovered the mother on tireless wings, calling softly that she was there. But the awful fear of the depths and the lance tops of the spruces was upon the little one; his flapping grew more wild; he fell faster and faster. Suddenly, more in fright, it seemed to me, that because he had lost his strength - he lost his balance and tipped head downward in the air. It was all over now; he folded his wings to be dashed in pieces among the trees. Then like a flash the old mother eagle shot under him, his despairing feet touched her broad shoulders, between her wings. He righted himself, rested an instant, found his head; then she dropped like a shot from under him, leaving him to come down on his own wings. A handful of feathers, torn out by his claws, hovered slowly down after them.

"It was all the work of an instant before I lost them among the trees far below. And when I found them again with my glass, the eaglet was in the top of a great pine, and the mother was feeding him." - Christabel Gladwell

How wonderful is it that we serve a God that loves us so much that He knows just how to grow us. I can picture myself as that little eaglet looking over my cozy position into a fearful world ahead of me. I know I have to fly because it's what I do. Yet I can't seem to make myself take that first step out of the nest. And there is God, right beside me encouraging me to take that step because He knows what will happen if I do. He is patient. Yet, He will make His move that will force me out of my comfort zone (cancer) and into the air where I can't grasp anything to support me. It is here where I need not give up. I can't, because He won't let me. As that baby bird started giving up and falling I remembered the fall I took into the darkness of despair. As I was falling, the Lord swooped down under me, gave me rest and strength, and brought me down to a gentle landing. It is there that I received rest and nourishment. It is there I learned to fly. Not to fly on my own but to fly on His wings.

Krista Jones
2.1.08