SHELTERED UNDER GOD'S WINGS

Everyone experiences unexpected circumstances. We never know what lies ahead. How do you cope with uncertainty and have the stability to live in victory each day?

For the Christian, daily security is in having an unwavering confidence that God is in absolute control and personally involved in every detail of our life. The only condition is that we be willing to accept His help and remain close to Him wherever He leads.

An article in National Geographic several years ago provided a penetrating picture of an eagle’s wings, symbolic of God‘s Everlasting Wings. After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno's damage. One ranger found an eagle literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick.

When he struck it, three tiny chicks scurried out from under their dead mother's wings. The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise.

She could have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her babies. When the blaze arrived and the heat had scorched her body, the mother remained steadfast. Because she had been willing to die, those under the cover of her wings lived.

In the Gospels we have such a description as Jesus approached his final destination at Jerusalem. He faced the Cross, the ultimate sacrifice for the sin of the world. Climbing the mountain, He looked over the city of Jerusalem and wept. "
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem!" He lamented, "How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings." (Matthew 23:37, NIV)

The human tragedy then and still today is that people are generally unwilling to accept God’s gracious offer of His Son, Jesus Christ and come to Him and find rest and safety for their souls. He said, "
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest...for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:28, NIV)

William Cushing lived in the 19th Century. After pastoring several large churches, Cushing was suddenly told that he could no longer preach. He had lost the power of speech. Broken in spirit, he cried out to God with the words of the Psalmist. God answered by giving him the gift of music and writing. In all, William Cushing wrote more than 300 gospel hymns, which had an even wider spiritual influence than his years of successful pastoral ministry.

Cushing’s hymn, "Under His Wings" is based on the Psalmist words, "
He will cover you with His feathers and under His wings you will find refuge" (Psalm 91:4) and "Hide me under the shadow of Thy wings" (Psalm 17:8). This hymn continues to be a favorite among God’s people in the 21st Century:

    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, what a refuge in sorrow!
    How the heart yearningly turns to His rest!
    Often when earth has no balm for my healing,
    There I find comfort and there I am blest.

    Under His wings, O what precious enjoyment!
    There will I hide till life’s trials are o’er;
    Sheltered, protected, no evil can harm me;
    Resting in Jesus I’m safe evermore.

    Refrain: Under His wings, under His wings,
    Who from His love can sever?
    Under His wings my soul shall abide,
    Safely abide forever.

Amen!

(Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI , c. 1990, p. 216)
(Excerpts from
Amazing Grace, 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions,
(Excerpts taken from an original article by David L. Cowles appeared in the "Your Faith" page of the Newark Advocate, OH, 2003)