Focus: Living life under His wings
Psalm 5:11 (NKJV) But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.
The key to having joy is trusting God. Everything we suffer in this life is connected to how much we trust God. If we could learn to trust the Lord in all things—life would be so much different for us.
As I looked up the translation of the original text for Psalm 5:11, I found that the meaning of ‘trust’ in this verse is ‘finding shelter—as under wings’. The word ‘defend’ was ‘to be hedged in or about’. Let’s look at the verse with those words replaced: But let all those rejoice who find shelter under Your wings; Let them ever shout for joy, because You have hedged them in; Let those also who love Your name be joyful in You.
The act of providing shelter under wings also implies an act of ‘parenting’. The offspring of birds are normally hidden from danger under the wings of the parent. Often this act of sheltering occurs within the nest, which suggests close intimacy and connection—a secure place of belonging. In that nest, there is a hedge of sorts around the vulnerable babies. They are safe on all sides because of the protection the loving parent has provided.
This is the kind of security God offers us when we put our trust in Him. No true harm can come to one who has an everlasting relationship with Him. There is a bond that can’t be broken when we willingly choose to place ourselves under His authority. The safest place any of us could ever be is ‘in the nest’ abiding under the shelter of the Lord.
God loves it when we have childlike faith. What is childlike faith, really? Think of a young child who is one or two years old. What is important to that child? To know where it’s parents are and to be close to them. They love to have the attention, approval, and love of their parents more than anything. Every small child loves to say, ‘Mama’, or ‘Daddy’. They just like saying the words. When they are in any kind of trouble. the first thing they cry out is “Mama’ or ‘Daddy’. That is the way God wants us to feel about Him. He wants us to prefer Him over all others—and all other things. He wants us to desire closeness with Him. He wants us to be completely satisfied with His love and to keep our attention focused on Him.
Things start going wrong in our lives when we try to get satisfaction from sources other than God. We need to keep that childlike connection with Him—the kind that if He walks into another room, we are on His heels. If any distance comes between Him and us, we should be crying our hearts out—just like a child does when they think they are going to have to be away from their parents.
It is the Lord’s desire that we would know true joy as a result of our love for Him and His Name. He wants us to be free from fear, loneliness, discouragement, disappointment, depression, addiction, and all the things that would come in the way our ability to trust Him completely.
If this life is a series of tests we live through to fulfill the purpose of God putting us here—the most important purpose we could possibly fulfill would be to find the ability to trust God completely. We can only trust someone we truly love. If our ability to trust God is lacking in any way—we should be focused on cultivating a deeper love for Him.
To have more joy we need to become more serious with ourselves regarding our ability to trust God. If we feel afraid, we should search our heart and ask, ‘Do I trust God right now? If I trust Him, I will not be afraid’.
If we are unhappy because of problems in a relationship—we need to put all of our trust in the Lord. The relationship might not be perfect—but if our trust in the Lord is perfect, we won’t become overwhelmed by our circumstances.
In every situation, we will be able to find joy in the knowledge that our life is lived under the shelter of His wings. Nothing can harm us there. There is no failure there. When we are living life under His wings—we are in a safe place. He is taking complete responsibility for us, so we have no reason to worry.
Take a moment right now and see yourself in that nest. You have chosen Him and He has chosen you. You have a bond of love that is intimate and your connection with Him cannot be broken. He has prepared a place for you to abide with Him that is safe on all sides…above, beneath, and all around—He has you covered.
Declaration: I will find new strength by seeing myself protected by the Lord. Under the shelter of His wings I will safely abide forever. Nothing can separate me from His great love. The knowledge of the importance of my trusting Him is changing how I live. In the future, I will search myself daily as to whether my trust in Him is complete. With childlike faith, I will prefer to live in His presence—giving Him my love and attention.
All NEW STRENGTH posts are Copyright by Christina Cook Lee as of the date they were written and posted. Please request permission to re-post or re-blog. This material will be published as a book at the end of 2012, by the grace of God.
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