I am a sucker for word pictures. My mind needs something to focus on, to hang on to, to better understand “abstract” truths. You know, those things that I want my heart to grasp, but that sometimes seem ethereal.
I’m really glad that the bible is full of word pictures that help me get my head around things that God wants me to know. He gives me glimpses into the magic and wonder of all that He is and all that His love contains.
I have many friends who are struggling with many different kinds of difficulties and pain. I have been in that place myself so many times. That place of darkness and hurt and not understanding what is going on and why. Precious friends, I hope that the word pictures that God showed me this morning are vivid in your mind as you read these verses….
David was in distress many times in his life. There were people after him, wanting to take his life. David was familiar with pain. And he wrote about it so often in the Psalms. His heart is poured out before God…
Psalm 55:4-6 – My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen on me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. I said, “Oh, that I had the WINGS of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.
David wanted wings to escape his situation. To just fly away and be free from everything that threatened his life. Don’t we want to do the same sometimes? To just be able to escape all that is going on in or around us?
But God offers us something even better than the “wings of a dove”…
Isaiah 40:31 – But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on WINGS like EAGLES; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Eagles wings! Powerful and strong. Wings to soar! If we look to Him and put all of our hope in His purpose in our struggles and heartache, He will make us fly like eagles and give us the stamina and strength to persevere and not just survive, but to thrive!
But until we receive that strength, until we know the power of those wings, He gives us another kind of wings. His very own…
Psalm 17:8 – Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your WINGS.
Psalm 91:4 – He will cover you with his feathers, and under his WINGS you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
He will hold us in our times of pain under His wings of protection and love. He will guard us with those wings and give us comfort and rest.
May you know the presence of His wings around you today. And may you soon experience His wind beneath your wings as you soar once again….
Hugs and prayers,
Me
