IN THE SHADOW OF HIS WINGS
My soul is satisfied as with the richest of foods; with joyfulH7445 lips my mouth will praise You. When I remember You on my bed, I think of You through the watches of the night. For You are my help; I will sing for joy in the shadow of Your wings. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.
Psalm 63:5-8
H7445 רְנָנָה rᵉnânâh – a shout (for joy):—joyful (voice), singing, triumphing.
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
David’s heart was content because of the Lord’s tender, protective nurture. His mouth exclaimed songs of celebration and triumph. The Lord had been his protector, like a female fowl hides her offspring from preying enemies by covering them with her wings. David found safety in the presence of God. This was the reason for his joy even as he was having to flee from his own son, Absalom, who was trying to usurp his throne. He was certain God would uphold him, that God had his back.
I faced opposition every step of the way when I first arrived on the campus of ORU because of my “handicap” and the challenges that came with it. Some of the administration at that time–instead of seeing me as a person of faith, conviction, and intelligence—saw mostly the potential insurance risk. In other words, they had concerns about potential lawsuits because they did not yet know me well enough to be assured that would not be a problem. God divinely orchestrated my admission to the college. I lived in a dorm room alone. Students I hired to meet my needs came in at various times of the day. Of all the students who assisted me the eight years as was at ORU, only two had any nursing training at all. The rest had no medical background. I trained them myself. The Lord had me under His wings for eight years. Even though I cried buckets of tears due to the constant battle of getting to class as a quadriplegic in a power chair, keeping assistants to physically write my papers as I dictated, even making sure I had assistance at each meal, etc., I was able to stay in school because it was God’s will, plan, design, and desire for my life and for His purposes. On many occasions, I threatened God that I might quit, but I did not follow through. I knew if I quit, it would be my biggest regret. I am thankful the Lord enabled me to persevere and overcome to achieve both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees because it prepared me for this moment, to be founder and President of Precious Jewels Ministries, Inc.
Are you in the middle of a struggle? Be confident that you are sheltered in the shadow of His wings. He can and will enable you to persevere and overcome.
Father, confidence that You are our helper and that we are sheltered in the shadow of Your wings enables us to overcome any obstacles the world places in our paths or even the obstacles we create ourselves. For this reason we rejoice triumphantly!