Beneath His Wings Part 1 Series

The second point I want you to focus on for this message pertains to a shadow. A shadow by definition is a shade that is cast when light reflects around a solid object. All of us cast a shadow in the presence of light. The only time you are not casting a shadow is when you are in total darkness (a message for later). The shadow that you cast spiritually should shade those who are close to you. Keep these two points in mind. Now let’s begin this morning with the verses we read earlier.

I. Our Refuge and Covering

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.’ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day; nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness; nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.”

As you read Psalms 91, it speaks to the dangers that existed during the times when the psalmist wrote it which also continue to exist today. This psalm opens with the testimony that anyone who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the almighty. This first verse speaks to the security that we have through Christ. Let me use this example. What does a small child do if they are outside in the yard with you and they get scared? Maybe they hear a dog barking or see something that scares them. What do they do? They run to you and often grab your leg and stand behind you. This is not something that you teach a child to do, it is done through instinct. That child knows that when they are scared, they run to the person who is bigger than them for protection. They do not doubt; they just act on instinct. This is what is captured here in this verse. I dwell in God’s secret place and I am under His shadow. In order for me to be “under” His shadow, I must be standing so close to Him that His shadow falls on me. When I am that close to God, I do not have to worry about anything because as soon as something happens that scares me, I can quickly run to Him and grab His leg because I am standing in His shadow and He is close by me. Does this made sense? If it doesn’t, just pay close attention to the kids around you and their responses when they get scared, you will see exactly what I am saying.

Look down at verse four. It says, “He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.” Remember the story of the hen that died protecting her chicks? Whenever you read about wings in the Bible, especially the Old Testament, the Hebrews used the term to demonstrate God’s protection. They took something found it nature among the birds and applied it spiritually to their relationship with God. In this verse the writer speaks of God spreading out His wings to cast a shadow of protection over us. We talk all the time about God’s divine protection and how sometimes when we are rebelling we step out from under that protection. Well if what happens in nature applied spiritually, when we do that do you not think that God would do His best to get us back under His protection? Absolutely He would and sometimes it is a battle for Him to do so because we want to be out doing our own thing. Now here is the good part. Look at verses five and six. “You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day; nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness; nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.” It did not say you “may not be afraid” it says you “shall not” be afraid. This is not up for debate! If you are walking under the wings of God and He is protecting you, when the terror comes by night you may experience a moment of fear, but then you realize that you are protected. Let the terror’s come, which they will, but you are protected. I remind myself that I am protected often when there are things happening around me that I cannot control. Let’s look at one additional Scripture that bears this out. Turn to Matthew 23:37.