I haven't written here for awhile. Mostly because I was fortunate enough to take some much needed time out and travel to Europe for two weeks. But also, even if I did have time to write during the last week of our trip, I was feeling somewhat at a loss on what to write about. Blank.
Sitting on the flight back to Cape Town, I was considering my circumstances at home, feeling myself slip back into despair about the current state of the life I was returning to. Coming to the realization of just how badly I had needed to get away and just forget about everything. Even if it was just for a little while. But sadly (I have to confess), at the same time, also how unashamedly I had neglected my quiet time with God over the past two weeks. I had even taken a break from that!
All things considered - most probably my lack of quiet time goes a long way in explaining my state of mind at the time.
All things considered - most probably my lack of quiet time goes a long way in explaining my state of mind at the time.
Having just returned from our trip, I was feeling a bit out of sorts. Wondering how I was going to get back into the spiritual routine I had worked so hard to establish. And so easily let slip. Not because God expects it of me, but because I really do need it. Like breathing.
And so, on my first morning back home, I open my Bible to Psalm 36 (verse 5-9):
Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O Lord. How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings. You feed them from the abundance of your own house, letting them drink from your river of delights. For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.
Even though I had planned to catch up on my shamefully behind daily Bible reading plan, I got stuck right away on this Psalm. And I recall having read words by Priscilla Shirer - something to this extent: When you feel the Word of God leap out of the page and stun you, stop right there. Don't rush ahead with your Bible reading. Because it is the living Word of God at work. It is not some random coincidence. It is God Himself speaking to you through His Word.
Psalm 36 says that God's love for us is unfailing. It is as vast as the heavens. The greatness and extent of God's love for us is so indescribable that David used our only known reference. Creation. The heavens and the clouds. And even that is beyond human grasp.
I remember looking out of the airplane window at the great expanse of never ending clouds - a blanket of white covering the earth. And the vastness of it is quite scary, especially when this tiny little man made metal aircraft is flying inside the clouds and you can not see beyond it, above or below. And you know that the pilot can not either... And don't even mention turbulence!
Imagine in David's days, even the possibility of flying above the clouds must have seemed impossible. God's faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Whether you are above or below it. Or caught inside and unable to see beyond. God is faithful. And He can always see beyond the clouds. He already knows what will happen. Because He planned it.
You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. Psalm 139:16 NLT
You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. Psalm 139:16 NLT
David says that all humanity finds shelter in the shadow of God's wings. This visual has repeatedly been revealed to me. And I am still making sense of it. It is obviously something that David felt strongly about, as I have read about the shelter of God's wings in so many Psalms (17, 36, 57, 61, 63, 91). It jumps out at me.
In Joseph Prince's book Unmerited Favor, he describes a scene where some artists are asked to create an artwork for a competition that captures the essence of the concept of peace. Although there were many beautiful paintings of tranquility, the unanimous winner of the competition was a painting of a wildly raging storm, with waves crashing against the ragged edges of a cliff and lightning flashing in the skies - in violent colours and aggressive brush strokes. Upon closer look at the painting, a beautiful scene of a family of eagles nesting in a crevice of the cliff is depicted. The young chicks are peacefully sleeping under the protection of the mother eagle's wings. She is facing the storm.
What a powerful image!
And that is exactly what Psalm 36 says: we can find shelter in the shadow of God's wings. Regardless of the circumstances. Psalm 57:1 (AMP): Be merciful and gracious to me, O God, be merciful and gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge and finds shelter and confidence in You; yes, in the shadow of Your wings will I take refuge and be confident until calamities and destructive storms are passed.
And that is exactly what Psalm 36 says: we can find shelter in the shadow of God's wings. Regardless of the circumstances. Psalm 57:1 (AMP): Be merciful and gracious to me, O God, be merciful and gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge and finds shelter and confidence in You; yes, in the shadow of Your wings will I take refuge and be confident until calamities and destructive storms are passed.
The Psalm also says that God feeds us from the abundance of His house and lets us drink from His rivers of delight. In the midst of an extremely turbulent and difficult time in my life, I get to take a break from it all. I get to drop everything and go on holiday on the other side of the world!
Psalm 37:18-19 (NLT) says: Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever. They will not be disgraced in hard times; even in famine they will have more than enough.
For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.
For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.
