Did you know that God has feathers? Please hear me out, before you brand me a heretic! God describes himself in many different ways, all for our benefit and understanding.
Psalms 61:4 says: “He lives in a tent and lets us find shelter under his wings”. Psalms. 91:4 says: “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge”.
Deuteronomy 32:10 reads: “He sustained him, (that is his people) in a desert land, in a howling wilderness waste; he shielded him, cared for him, guarded him as the apple of his eye.”
These are wonderful descriptions of God’s caring concern and love for us.
In verse 11 of Deuteronomy 32 however, we can catch a slightly different glimpse. It says: “Like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions”.
God seems to conduct his own sort of “Flight school” for his people. He knows, we need to be able to leave the comfort of the nest behind us in order to grow and mature. Did you know that eaglets would never learn to fly unless the parent literally stirs up the nest and makes it too uncomfortable to stay in? The parent eagle will then hover over the nest, creating a breeze that will literally throw the eaglets out of the nest? Sounds like rather rude treatment—but the parent will not just let them drop out of the nest—it will catch the eaglets on its wings and safely carry them back to the nest, until they have discovered and learned that they can fly themselves!
Just like the eaglets, we have to abandon that which used to be comfortable, entrust our lives completely to the Lord, our only hope and salvation, who jealously watches over us. Isaiah, the prophet, talks about the benefits of trusting and waiting for the Lord: …”they shall renew their strength and mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
In Matthew 23:37 we find a description of how God longed to gather people unto himself, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but they were not willing!
May this never have to be said about us! Accept His incredibly generous offer of salvation and forgiveness.
© 1998 Volkhard Graf, YWAM Native Ministries
(Permission to reproduce this material is automatically granted on the condition it will be used for non-commercial purposes, will not be sold, and will be distributed for the sole purpose of expanding the Gospel.)
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