Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings. — Psalm 17:8
I have often loved to watch animals as they go about their lives and how they respond to situations. In many instances, they rely on instinct. They know exactly what they should do or where they should go. At other times, they act based on past experiences, knowing what needs to be done to survive.
The phrase shadow of thy wings has often caught my attention. While I often read it, it took on a new meaning one day as I watched some chickens. Something happened that scared the baby chicks that were nearby their mother. Those baby chicks responded by instinct. They ran to their mother knowing she would protect them. The mother reacted from experience, she spread her wings over her little chicks and pulled them close. She knew that was the way she could protect them.
David uses this very example here in Psalm 17 as a means to describe the protection that he prayed for from God. As he prays, he shares about all the things going on around him. He talks of the wickedness, mistreatment by others, words that people had said, and more.
If I were to summarize David’s statement, he says, “God, I don’t know where else to go. You are the only one that can protect me from all of this.” If only that were to become our first instinct in times of trouble!
We often get in trouble and try to fix things ourselves. Instead, we should cry out to God just like David. We know that He is the one that can help us. He is the one that can protect us. So why are we trying to do it on our own? We should run under the shadow of His wings!
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