Under His Wings

“He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge.” — Psalm 91:4

Have you ever seen a mother hen with her chicks? When there’s danger, a hawk circling overhead, or a cold wind, or a storm, the mother hen calls her chicks. And they all come running and hide under her wings. She spreads her feathers over them, and they are warm and safe.

Psalm 91 uses that picture to describe God.

“Whoever lives in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty,” the psalm begins. “I will say to the Lord, ‘You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’”

“He will cover you with His feathers,” it says, “and under His wings you will find refuge. His faithfulness will be your shield.”

What a beautiful picture! God is like a mother bird, spreading His wings over His children to keep them safe and warm.

Psalm 91 goes on to say that you don’t need to be afraid of terrors in the night, or dangers in the day. “For He will command His angels to guard you in all your ways.”

Do you remember Ruth, in the second book? Boaz said she had come to take refuge under the wings of the God of Israel. And Jesus Himself used the same picture. Looking over the city of Jerusalem, He said, “How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings” (Luke 13:34).

Does this mean nothing bad will ever happen to people who love God? No. Jesus loved God perfectly, and He still suffered. Paul loved God, and he was beaten and shipwrecked. Psalm 91 doesn’t promise that we’ll never face trouble.

But it does promise that we never face trouble alone. Under God’s wings, we belong to Him. And nothing can take us out from under His care, not even death.

At night, when you’re in bed, you can imagine God’s wings spread over you, like a mother bird over her chicks. You are safe with Him.

Read it in your Bible: Psalm 91:1–6, 9–16

Dear God, thank you that you cover me with your feathers, and that under your wings I can find refuge. Please keep me safe tonight. You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. Amen.