But God will cover us with his feathers, by Barbara Alexander, Villers St Paul, France

Psalm 91:4, 14 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge … The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name.”

One day recently, during my early morning quiet time, I came upon Psalm 91:4.

Having gone through (and continuing to go through) difficult times (health issues) over the past 20 years, the image of me being covered with God’s “feathers”, and being sheltered under His wings, was of immense comfort to my soul and spirit.  After all, is He not the Infinite God – without measure, without boundaries?  How awesome His feathers!!

And when I contemplate His limitlessness, an illustration always helps me keep a more proper perspective:

Suppose I were to walk out my front door, and walk in a straight line, over buildings, in the air.  And suppose I were to keep on “walking”, over mountains, countries, oceans, and out into space, never stopping, always moving, past stars and galaxies, swirling masses of celestial bodies.   If I could do that, and NEVER stop, just keep on going, going, going – I would never get to the end of God – NEVER!  And, no matter what direction I took, – north, south, east, west – the result would still be the same: He is out there, limitless, infinite, and WAY beyond the capacity of my feeble brain to imagine!

That said, as I took the dog out for our daily “promenade” that Psalm 91:4 morning, I paused for a moment on the sidewalk.  I live in a small town in France, about 30 minutes’ drive north of Paris.  In town, the buildings/houses/fences front the sidewalk – there is no grass between the tar of the sidewalk and the walls.  Most often I find myself on a sidewalk on these outings, and that morning was no exception.

So as I paused on that morning’s walk, I was beside a building, but no eaves hung over my head.  The sky was pretty clear as I recall, blue above me with a few clouds. Usually I keep on moving when I’m out with my dog Fifi – after all, that’s the purpose of this little jaunt, to get her out so she does her stuff.  But that particular morning I guess neither of us was in a hurry, so I found myself standing still for a moment.  

All of a sudden I noticed something in my field of vision in front of me – above me – something small and white, floating lazily down, in a zig-zag fashion, floating, gently falling, slowly, softly descending to the ground. I realized it was a little feather, an inch and a quarter long, probably from a pigeon, as there are quite a few of those around, especially on the roof of the large 12th-century stone church in the center of town, close to my home.  But there were no pigeons above me as I stood there out on the sidewalk – just open sky above my head.  

So where did that feather come from?

I reached down to pick it up, noting the perfect symmetry like a leaf, the soft whiteness, the fluffy curl of the “branches.” And there, in the bright, quiet morning, it seemed God was speaking to my heart: “Yes, My child, I am covering you with My feathers – feathers of love, feathers of protection, feathers of peace.  You are in My infinite care, and always will be.  Rest, My child, REST there, and know that My Infinite care of you cannot be surpassed.  I am your Sovereign protection, over every cell of your body, every heartbeat, every breath. Rest, My child, REST.”

Needless to say, I put the feather in my pocket, took it home, and mounted it on a card, whereupon I wrote Psalm 91:4, and placed it where I would see it often.  And when I see it, the truth it represents continues to comfort and calm my soul and spirit, and remind me Who is in COMPLETE control of everything that touches my little life here on this planet Earth, which is but a pinpoint in our galaxy, which is but a pinpoint in the universe, which is totally contained by the Sovereign Lord of the universe.

So, what exactly was I worrying about just now??? :):):)