Chapter 13
I AM Protected
I love Psalm 91:4 which says, "He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler." In another lesson on the apple of God's eye, we read two other scriptures that talked about finding protection under the shadow of God's wings. And there are several more verses on this theme in the Bible.
Years back, I read a great story about a farmer who raised chickens. One of his hens had recently hatched a batch of biddies. They followed her around wherever she went. One day she went out into some grass to look for bugs (or whatever chickens eat) and she smelled smoke. She realized the grass had caught fire and that her babies were in danger. She quickly called them and gathered them up under her wings. Much later, after the fire burnt down, the farmer came out to see what had happened. There was the mother hen, burnt to death. Saddened, he picked her up, and to his amazement, out from under the protection of her wings, came the little chicks, safe and sound.
Now sadly, when trials, tests or calamity come our way, we're not as smart as these little chickens were. Many times, we run from God – away from His protection, away from His mercy, away from the shadow of His wings. Or we just ignore Him like He isn't right there, standing by, ready to help. Some of you probably don't pray about things as you should. Many of us don’t.
But when circumstances get scary, when we're feeling anxious or agitated, we must learn to run to the only One who can protect us in the middle of our circumstances. We must be like the little chicks that hid under their mother’s protective wings until the danger was past. That mother hen gave her life for them. And so did Jesus - He loves us so much He gave His life on the cross on our behalf.
God is standing by to protect us. But He is not going to force you to run to Him for protection. He is waiting for you to make the choice yourself. When you are feeling anxious, run to Him and get under His wing.
Pray with me, “Keep me as the apple of Thy eye, hide me under the shadow of Thy wings” (Psalm 17:8). You can experience peace and freedom from worry and anxiety - under the shadow of His wing.
Continue to Chapter 13: Questions
