Speaker: Darlene Sala | Series: Encouraging Words | Peggy Smith stood observing their old mother hen and her brood of chickens that were scattered all over the yard. As she watched, she began to notice the shadow of a hawk circling overhead. The drama played out before her.

 

That mother hen did not run to those little chicks and jump on top of them to try to cover them with her wings.  No! Instead, she squatted down, spread out her wings and began to cluck. And those little chickens, from every direction, came running to herto get under those outstretched wings. Then the hen pulled her wings down tight, tucking every little chick safely under her.  To get to those babies, the hawk would have to go through the mother.[1]

 

Psalm 91:4 immediately came to her mind: “[God] will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge” (NIV). Peggy said, “When I think of those baby chicks running to their mother, I realize it is under His wings that we may seek refuge–but we have to run to Him.”

 

Yes, in our lives when the hawks circle, God offers us comfort and safety.   Boaz, in the book of Ruth refers to God, “under whose wings you have come to take refuge” (2:12). One of my favorite insights into the heart of Jesus is when he cries out over Jerusalem, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem . . . ,how often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”

 

I wonder if there are times when God would like to have comforted us “under his wings” but instead of coming to Him, we depended on our own resources.  When He covers us, the forces of hell cannot penetrate His protection.

[1]Peggy Joyce Ruth, “Lessons From a Chicken,” Charisma Home, http://www.charismamag.com/blogs/power-up/11480-lessons-from-a-chicken, accessed 3-8-15.