Nancy Hughes: Singing in the shadow

“Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.”

Psalm 63:7 (NIV)

My husband was the manager of a propane company for many years and he often filled in for his drivers when they were unable to make deliveries. One customer, an elderly woman, had a small dog that was a constant irritation. Every time my husband would step out of his propane truck, the dog would begin nipping his ankles and legs. 

No amount of kicking at it or yelling would stop it from attacking. Every delivery to her home would result with rips in his workpants and cuts on his legs. 

Finally on one delivery, he grabbed a wrench from the truck seat in complete frustration and thumped the dog on the head. It immediately yipped its way to the back of the house. “I thought that would take care of the problem,” he later told me.

But as soon as he reached the house and started to knock on the front door, he heard the dog yipping again as he came around the corner – with a huge Doberman pincher leading the way and the smaller dog close behind. 

“That little dog danced around under the back legs of the big dog as I stood pinned to the house until the lady could come out to help,” he told me. “I swear it was taunting me and singing ‘Takin’ Care of Business.’ There was no way I could move” he went on.

I can’t help but think of Psalm 63:7 when I think of that story. David understood the feeling of being attacked. But his attacker was King Saul and he didn’t want to simply nip David’s ankle. King Saul wanted to kill him. Even so, David knew that no matter what came his way, God was his deliverer.

He also understood something else: he could sing praises of joy and deliverance in the worst of times because God was his protector watching over him and defending his life. 

Can I just ask you something? What are you facing that is nipping at your ankles every time you turn around? What keeps you awake at night and rolls around in your mind all day? Absolutely nothing is bigger than God’s ability to handle it and to protect you. 

Why call on His name for help? When we allow the Creator of the Universe to fight for us, we too can sing from the shadow and protection of His wings. 

Father, thank you for protecting me in the shadow of your wings as you watch over my every need. In Jesus’ Name. Amen. 

R.A.P. it up . . . 

Reflect

· Have you had a problem or situation that has consumed your every thought?

· Did you call on the Lord to help you? Why or why not?

Apply

· In your journal draw a picture of huge wings.
· List every problem, worry or situation you are facing under the picture.

· Praise the Lord for His protection as you sing in His shadow. 

Power 

Psalm 63:7 (NIV) “Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.”
Nahum 1:7 (NIV) “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him .”

II Corinthians 4:8-9 (NIV) “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”

(For more of Nancy's writing, check out her blog, Encouragement from the War Room.)