Cling

You are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me. Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings!

Psalm 61:3-4

Under his wings. God’s Word often uses this image to describe his intimate and protective love for us. It calls to mind a scenario in nature with which his people were familiar—the sight of a mother bird gathering her chicks under her wings.

From there, pressed up against the mother, the little chicks are warmed and find shelter from both weather and predators. There they have no fear, kept safe from any danger.

David uses the same imagery in Psalm 63:7: “Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.” We find joy in God’s embrace. We are to live under his wings; we are to make the shadow of his wings our dwelling place. He invites us to a life pressed close to him. David completes this thought with these words: “I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely” (Psalm 63:8).

I think the invitation to such intimacy—pressed against God’s heart—is rightly met with David’s response: “I cling to you.” I love the word cling. It means adhere to, stick like glue, press against. It makes me think of static cling. Some kind of electrical attraction gets hold of something and it sticks to you. You can’t unstick it. If you try to brush it off, it jumps right back on. It clings.

That should describe your relationship with Jesus. Is anything troubling you right now? Do you feel vulnerable or exposed or unprotected? Are there circumstances that seem threatening? Do you feel as if you are on your own? Cling to Jesus. Take refuge under his wings. Hear his heart. Let him warm you and cover you. Stop now and deliberately respond to his invitation: “Come, child. Let me spread my wings over you. Come into the shelter of my presence.”

Jesus, pull me close to you as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. You are all the shelter I need. You are all the refuge I seek. I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.

O God, Thou has made us for Thyself, and our hearts find no rest until they rest in Thee.

St. Augustine(354–430), Latin North African theologian and philosopher