Feathers
He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge…Psalm 91:4a
Feathers? Wings? Why did God chose this avian metaphor to describe His protective nature toward His people?
Think about what Jesus said to the citizens of Jerusalem in Matthew 23:37. “…how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings…”
I believe He chose this metaphor because He wants you to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He longs to wrap you up His arms, vigilantly guarding you as He keeps a watchful eye over you.
Sadly, the final comment from Jesus’ lips in Matthew 23:37 was this: “…but you were unwilling!” You see, God is a free-will Being, and because of that He respects the free will of each human to choose, reject, or ignore Him, even at the risk of their safety, both now and eternally. But I’m not focusing on subject today, so let’s move on.
What a comfort it is to trust Him as you go through life, knowing that He is near, alert, ready to swoop in to cover you with His protective wings! The more you meditate on this fact, the less fearful you will be when confronted with unsettling thoughts, news, conversations or events. Why? Because you have purposefully made your home in the secret place, becoming increasingly familiar with His loving, mindful heart toward you, and growing in confidence in His protective guardianship.
And if you think you need to be a Bible “guru” to access this awesome protection, think again! A friend of mine shared a story about a relatively new believer she knew who found herself in dire straits, fearing for her life. She believed the Lord loved her and wanted to rescue her from her dilemma, but she couldn’t bring any Scripture to mind. All she could think of was a verse that said something about feathers. Mustering her courage, she cried out to God, “FEATHERS!!” The danger dissipated, and she was safe.
Does that surprise you? It shouldn’t; when you make the Lord your dwelling place and abide under the shadow of His wings, no matter whether you’re proficient or not in the ins and outs of doctrine, He is bonded to you and committed to protect His own who cry out to Him in faith.
Be really glad—He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge!
Dorothy
© Dorothy Frick, 2021
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He will deliver you
Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the deadly pestilence. Psalm 91:3
This verse is straightforward. God’s intention is for you to be delivered, pure and simple, from snares and disease.
Surely…
SURELY means the issue is settled. Whenever Jesus said, “Verily, verily…” in the gospels, He was saying “Absolutely. Beyond a shadow of a doubt.” This word “surely” is the exact same thing—God is saying, “I’ve made up My mind. It’s settled.”
He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler…
God is ready and willing to deliver you from danger. He is prepared to rescue you from any pitfall you may encounter. Of course, this doesn’t mean you have liberty to violate the Word of God or your conscience just because “God will cover it, no matter what.”
Remember Psalm 91:1? These promises are for you who seek to put the Lord first place in your life and decisions. (Satan tried to get Jesus to take a flying leap from the top of the Temple by quoting another verse from this Psalm—“Hey! God’s angels will catch You in their hands if You jump! Just do it, and everyone will know You’re God!” Jesus told him, “BUG OFF! I’m not putting My God to this kind of stupid test” (see Matthew 4:5-7; my paraphrase).
God knows how human people are; yet He cares for us nonetheless. Do you seek to put Him first? Then whether you’re perfect or not (and you’re not), He’s prepared to deliver—rescue, snatch you away, recover you, and pluck you out—from every conceivable trap, snare, or danger. He just wants you to look to Him first for help—and help will come.
I’ve experienced several occasions in which God came through for me in a big way. Car accidents were averted, violent people meaning to harm me backed off for no apparent reason (one man threatening to “martyr” my friend and me literally fell over backwards when I quoted God’s Word), and once, about ten years ago, I heard God tell me on a Monday not to mow my lawn on Thursday—no explanation, but when Wednesday came, I reluctantly mowed—and then mid-morning Thursday (my prime mowing time), as I sat looking out of my window—CRASH!! Down came a large silver maple across the width of my back yard—right where I would have been mowing!
The Lord is not limited to delivering you from physical danger, either; He is also keen to the moral, emotional, social, and relational dangers sneaking up on you. He may give you a subtle nudge to avoid a certain party, meeting, or trip; as you yield to His leading, you are sparing yourself unnecessary trouble. Even when someone actively seeks to undermine your reputation, He is willing to deliver you. When you lean on Him in purposeful trust, He’ll show you what to do—and what not to do. Obey Him, and you will see yourself rescued from big fat headaches and heartaches.
… And from the deadly pestilence.
As greatly as He cares for your safety, He also cares about your health. In fact, the Bible says, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24).
Don’t think the Lord isn’t aware of Covid-19, its variants, and every other disease out there, whether ancient or hot off the press. It’s His stated purpose to SURELY deliver you…from the deadly pestilence. He’s given you the tools to use—common sense and good hygiene knowledge—and has granted wonderful insight into how to build your immune health just for the asking. Above all, He expects you to trust Him with your body. He knows how to protect it; and even if you do contract some disease, SURELY He will be faithful to deliver you and to walk with you through it to the other side.
With everything as out of control as it seems to be now, I can’t think of any better place to park my focus: Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
Dorothy
© 2020; updated 2021, Dorothy Frick
Read MoreWhat are you saying of Him?
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust!” Psalm 91:2
We live in a turbulent time. So many things are happening that can send you into panic. Factions, friction, and fabrications about life and death matters swirl with hurricane force and demand not only your attention, but also your hope, your joy, and your peace. Nothing less than cowering fear, quiet resignation, or rabid anger is allowed in our cultural climate.
And here you stand, child of God. Do you think God was out of His mind for letting you come to this hour, this place, and to these issues? Do you wonder if He forgot how you don’t like this kind of high voltage environment or conflict of any kind?
OR maybe you like it too well. You may find yourself internally raging till the blood vessels pop out all over your neck as you fantasize your next tweet or post or conversation with a member of an opposing political viewpoint.
Or maybe you’re like I am at times—one moment freaked out, the next moment ready to take off someone’s head? (Figuratively speaking, of course.)
No matter your bent, Believer, the only way to achieve the will of God and to ensure that your hope, joy, peace, and sanity remain intact throughout the demonic storm in which we’ve found ourselves is emphasized in this Psalm.
What are you saying of the Lord? If you’ve moved into the Secret Place of the Most High; if you abide under the shadow of the Almighty, you need to SAY SO, especially now.
I don’t care what your personality type is, you need to speak out loud to God and tell Him who He is to you.
You are my Refuge. You, Lord, are my safety and shelter from danger, pursuit, and trouble. You are where I can rest in time of threat or distress. I can run to You and am safe, no matter the peril.
You are my Fortress. You, Sir, are my place of defense. You are a stronghold so fortified that enemy forces cannot break through. In You I am safe, and the evil one touches me not (1 John 5:18).
You are my God. Lord, I will acknowledge no other God but You. You are MY God. You are real; You are alive; and You care about me. I belong to You.
In You I will trust. I trust You today with everything that I will face. I will trust You tomorrow with everything that comes my way. I will trust You with every oppressive detail of life that is pulling and pushing, mauling and maligning to force me to bow to a version of truth not of You. When I am afraid, I will trust in You (Psalm 56:3); and as my mind is stayed on You, trusting, You will keep me in perfect peace (see Isaiah 26:3).
What are you saying of the Lord? Make it count.
© Dorothy Frick, 2021
Read MoreUnder the shadow of the Almighty
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1
The Secret Place of the Most High is always available to anyone who dares to ask the Lord for refuge in a time of trouble. I know many people who, although they had no prior relationship to Jesus, experienced unexplainable intervention in awful situations when they simply asked Him for help. Without realizing it, they had stumbled into His Secret Place.
But did you know that this Secret Place was actually created to become your dwelling and not merely a safe place to run to during tough times? How do you find your way there permanently? Jesus said, “I am the Way”; and once you decide to make Him your home, He in turn, will make you HIS home. He said of this living arrangement, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).
The effect of making Him—the Most High—your dwelling place is this: You will live, 24/7, under His protective, far-reaching shadow.
Priceless benefits become yours when you abide under His shadow—and they are yours for a lifetime.
Proximity
When you are under the shadow of God, He is near, close enough to block incoming attacks of every kind. His arm is not so short that He cannot save you, nor is His ear deaf to your cries (see Isaiah 59:1). No; He is right there, present with you, His shadow hovering over you, and He will hear your cry and will grasp you firmly with His hand, pulling you out of harm’s way. His proximity is a Shadow benefit.
Hiddenness
Playing hide and seek as a kid, I loved hiding in deep foliage. As I sneaked away into the shadowy places, staying still, no one could ever find me. Think about the gift of camouflage with which God clothes little fawns. As they stand motionless in the shadows mixed with sunlight through the leaves above, they remain undetected by roaming predators. And as YOU remain steadfast, trusting Him during times of peril, His shadow will keep you hidden as danger passes by. Hiddenness is a Shadow benefit.
Refreshing
When I first wrote this, my area was under a multi-day excessive heat warning. Going outside was just shy of stepping into Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego’s blazing furnace! On those daily walks around my neighborhood, the shade from large trees offered refreshing oases of cool as I passed under them. Yet as relieving as walking through deep shade on a sweltering day may feel, abiding under the shadow of the Almighty will restore your soul. The incessant heat of this culture’s raging turmoil, bent on sapping energy and strength, rolls off of you when you frequently find your way into the Secret Place. Refreshing is a Shadow benefit.
Miracles
In the early days of the church, miraculous healings were expected underneath a shadow. You see, signs and wonders were taking place at the hands of the apostles; Peter was preaching, and the fear of God was heavy upon the people. Many were being saved; and the sick were being carried out into the streets and laid on cots and pallets…just to get a chance to be under Peter’s shadow as he passed by. Acts 5:16 states it plainly…the sick and afflicted were ALL being healed.
YOU are under a shadow of far greater effect than Peter’s. YOU are under the shadow of the ALMIGHTY, the miracle-working God. As you think on the security that is yours in this secret place under the shadow of His presence, you can boldly pour out your requests before Him—however impossible your situation may be—and know that He is here, listening, loving, and willing to move on your behalf. The miraculous is a Shadow benefit.
As you saturate yourself in the awareness of all the benefits that are yours under the shadow of the Almighty, those things will become more and more real to you; but don’t forget: All these blessings are yours because you have chosen to shelter in Secret Place with the Most High.
I pray you grow closer to Him day by day while abiding under the shadow of the Almighty,
© Dorothy Frick, 2021
Read MoreThe Secret Place
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1
Secret place. There is a place set aside for you to meet with the Most High. It is tucked away, hidden from prying eyes and sneering faces. You first found it when you cried out alone to Him on your bed or stared wonderingly about Him into the starry night sky. Wherever you were, at whatever age you started this quest, you stumbled into the Secret Place of the Most High.
That time in the secret place may be but a memory of a different time in your life when you dared to venture into the Unknown called God. But the One of the Secret Place is ever present, ever anticipating, ever ready for a visit from you.
The Psalmist tells us that there are those who have actually made the Secret Place their home. They are no better than you; they merely found their way back to that spot so frequently that sooner or later they made it their address.
The One who provides you this Secret Place also offers the gift of faith necessary to dwell there permanently with Him. It is yours for the asking…but remember: He designed the Secret Place; you did not. You merely found your way there…and not without His help.
Once you make Him your home, the awkwardness of considering Him first in all areas of your life starts to fade away, and the adventure begins.
When you live in your physical home, storms may roar or blizzards may blow, but your roof and your walls keep you safe, dry and warm. When you make the Most High your dwelling place, you are under His roof, safe behind His walls…whether you are inside or out; soaring at cruise altitude through the sky or diving far beneath the waves; in the middle of a crowd or in an abandoned outpost at the remotest part of the earth…you are under His shadow. He is there, watching over you, listening for your call, ready to move on your behalf…because you are His. You have made Him your home.
Lord Jesus, Thank You for preparing the Secret Place for us. I receive You as my Home.
Dorothy
© Dorothy Frick, 2021
Read MorePsalm 91:4 Faithful to cover
He shall cover
you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall
take refuge;
His faithfulness shall be
your shield and buckler.
When you picture feathers or wings, do you typically think of military shields? That’s not my customary train of thought, but this unusual pairing reveals how intensely protective God feels about you. His heart brims with the desire to cover you when danger lurks and to be your shield against incoming attacks.
He shall cover
you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall
take refuge…
The Creator has always had a bird’s eye view of the animal kingdom, and He chose—out of all His creatures—to liken Himself to an eagle when revealing His protective nature toward His people.
In the Song of Moses, it says of God’s relationship to Jacob, “…He encircled him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye. Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young, He spread His wings and caught them, He carried them on His pinions” (Deuteronomy 32:10-11).
David also use this same imagery in five of his Psalms. In Psalm 57, you can hear his anguished devotion when he cries out, “Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by (verse 1). I love this! In the hour of greatest desperation, you, like David, have the right to hunker down under the shadow of God’s wings until destruction passes you by.
Not only did God’s people the Jews have access to the powerful shelter of God’s wings, but the Moabite Ruth also found refuge under His protective wings as well. Boaz spoke highly of Ruth’s deep devotion to and care for her mother-in-law Naomi when he said, “May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge” (Ruth 2:12).
David, Moses, and Ruth each found refuge under the majestic wings of the Lord. The Almighty God is still ready and willing to cover anyone who seeks His help; He will never tire of protecting you.
…His faithfulness shall be your shield and buckler.
When I come to this section in prayer, I am reminded of another shield—the mighty shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16). But how many times—instead of believing your faith could quench every incoming missile—you’ve felt absolutely worthless? The enemy works overtime to make you feel like a complete faith-failure.
I felt like that more times than I could count…until this verse came alive to me. You see, God’s faithfulness itself is your shield! You don’t have to have monster faith; your God has enough faithfulness for the two of you! Just put your faith into His faithfulness, and when you feel weak, your trust is no longer in your own ability to be some kind of faith giant; your trust is in God!
And when it comes to God’s protective care over you? Place your trust fully in His faithfulness to do what it takes to keep you safe.
One night as a thirty-something woman, I had been passing out gospel tracts on the St. Louis Arch grounds with a group from my church. Because I was somewhat “seasoned” at this sort of thing, an inexperienced young couple were paired with me. Toward the end of the evening I was sharing Jesus with a young woman. The couple got bored and wandered off to find the rest of the group. I didn’t care because she was very interested in giving her life to Christ.
Soon, her eyes popped open as big as silver dollars, and she scrambled away. I turned and immediately was surrounded by a group of six to eight men. As they closed in around me, the oddest thing happened. I had a vision!
No longer was I standing near the top of the south stairway of the Arch; I was at a Charles Capps meeting at my church! There Brother Capps stood, preaching with his Arkansas twang, “My brother, sister, Jesus SAID ‘Let us GO to the other side of the lake’; and if Jesus SAID ‘Let us GO to the other side of the lake’, then no wave, no wind, no storm could stop Him!”
And with that, there I was, back at the Arch, surrounded by the same six to eight men. I looked across the way and saw the old Riverboat McDonald’s. I SAID to the men, “I am GOING to McDonald’s!”
I walked right through that circle; no one touched me. As I descended the long stairway, the Holy Spirit spoke clearly, “Walk. Don’t run. Hold your head high, and don’t look back.”
There were whistles and catcalls as I fearlessly walked across Leonor K. Sullivan Blvd. to the gangplank leading to McDonald’s. Down the gangplank I marched, opened the door to the Golden Arches and saw my whole team—including the young couple. In an instant it dawned on me what God had just shielded me from. My knees became Jello, and I wobbled to the counter to order a bag of fries and a Coke.
God’s faithfulness was my shield and buckler that night; and the good news is that He will always be the same, yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
Put your faith in the faithfulness of the Lord and take refuge under His all-encompassing wings!
Dorothy
© 2020, Dorothy Frick
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