Shieded beneath God's Faithful Wing

It was dusk and since there was the hint of Spring my husband left the windows off the jeep. I was glad he did because we were on our way to watch a calf being born. There were no complications in the birthing process, the calf was perfect. But then something strange happened, the mother began licking the wrong calf and in doing so she bonded to the wrong calf and rejected the one she had just given birth to. The helpless newborn calf just lay there unprotected and uncared for. Unless there was an intervention the calf would die.

The mother cow was unfaithful to her calf how different this is from the picture I find in Psalm 91. "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to to Lord, 'My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.'" There is a promise here that I find such deep comfort in. The promise that I find here is that when I seek refuge under the wing of the Almighty I won't be rejected.

I have often thought of the shield of faith as being my faith in God but I saw something different when I read, "He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler." This is a picture of a mother bird who spreads her wings and draws her young close to her heart using the feathers of her wing to shield her young from the terrors of the night or the destruction that wastes at noonday. This is a picture not only of God's faithfulness but also of the intimacy of His love.

Recently I spent the night with a friend of mine who was experiencing a deep grief. I lay in bed praying for her. As I prayed I envisioned my friend abiding under the shelter of the Almighty. I was so aware of her vulnerability but I was also aware as I prayed for her that she was being sheltered beneath the wing of her loving Heavenly Father.

Lord Jesus, I remember how You wept longing to draw those you loved close to You as a mother hen draws her young beneath her wing. I am beginning to understand that Your faithfulness is like the protective wing of a mother bird drawing me close to Your heart and my faithfulness is to accept Your invitation.