Monday, August 19, 2013
(Written by Keesha Sullivan)
In the reading today Psalm 36:7 was covered, which states "How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings." God's love is so rich and deep that we cannot place a price on it. God's love is better as well as more powerful than possessing all the money in the world.
We can take refuge in the shadow of the Almighty's wings. The word refuge here can be looked at in three different ways.
1. God provides a safe retreat when life is throwing tumultuous storms our way. Maybe things are getting really hard and the pressure of life just feels like it is too much. God is there as a safe place. We can go under His wings and feel His covering shielding us from the storm.
2. When we take refuge in the shadow of His wings, He provides a place of healing and renewal. When we become physically sick or mentally exhausted, God gives us healing for our bodies and renewal for our minds. Just the other night Kenny and I both were dealing with ailments at three o'clock in the morning. Neither one of us could sleep because the pain was so intense. I felt it was a spiritual battle, and that the enemy was trying to steal our sleep. Kenny and I got up and began praying for the Almighty's protection. God gave us both immediate healing, and we slept soundly the rest of the night.
3. The third meaning of refuge is when God provides a stronghold from which to launch a counter attack. During times where life, people, or the evil one comes against us, God gives us a fortified place, a place of security or survival.
One place in Scripture that shows this verse coming to life is in Ruth. In Ruth 2: 12, Boaz says to Ruth, "May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge." Ruth was a foreigner that had no food to eat, yet God provided refuge, a safe retreat, through Boaz. Ruth had no protection to keep her from being molested in this foreign place, yet God provided refuge, a stronghold, through Boaz. Ruth did not have a husband or someone to give her a family line, yet God provided refuge, renewal, through Boaz.
I thank God that His love has been, and will continue to be, more costly than gold and more beautiful than diamonds. Nothing that we desire will ever compare with Him and the refuge He provides in the shadow of His wings.
"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace" (Numbers 6:24-26)
Kenny Sullivan
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