Finding Fitting Shelter

...hide me under the shadow of your wings
– Ps 17:8

Where do you go when you need to hide? I suppose the question of where depends on the question of what: from what are you hiding? The blankets of a bed are a great place when you are hiding from nightly monsters. (Just make sure you get your feet completely covered by the blankets!) A home or a storefront is a good place to hide from harsh storms and lightning. But where is the place to go and hide when the what is immaterial? How can you hide from emotional turmoil, spiritual oppression, intrusive thoughts? It would seem there is no safe space to hide from such things. If there is no safe place, then you are only left out in the storm, out in the dark.

A refrain through the Psalms, however, is the prayer for the Lord to do exactly this: hide me! Certainly there were physical enemies to which the psalmist refers. But the Psalms are more than that. Jesus teaches us that, as these are His prayers (for He prayed them), they are holistic; they do not speak only or merely to the material forces that oppose and oppress. The place where we are to seek our hiding place is under the shadow of Your wings. When we seek a hiding place we are confessing, whether we know it or not, that the "assailants" are too great for us, whether in number or in immensity. As God is infinite, He will always "outnumber" our assailants. As He overshadows us with grace, so does the doom of His shadow fall on our assailants.

To be under the shadow of His wings, is to draw near to Him, primarily by drawing near to the Holy Spirit who is often depicted in the form and activity of a bird. There, near to the beating heart of the Lord, we are to hear Him, that His quiet words and wisdom might dispel the darkness of that which assails us. There, next to the beating heart of the Lord, we hear words of identity: you are the beloved child of God. There, next to the beating heart of the Lord, we hear words of provision: I set the Table before you in the presence of your enemies. There, next to the beating heart of the Lord, we hear words of belonging: I have called you by name; you are Mine.

Draw near. Take refuge. Feel His warmth. Listen to His love.


Grace & Peace

Fr. Matthew