Under His Wings

A lot of people are experiencing great sorrow, disappointment, or loss right now.

My social media feeds are full of grief. 

Hearts are heavy. Bills are many. We never seem to get enough sleep or feel that what we have accomplished is "enough".

Burdened hearts and busy schedules don't leave much time for rest.

I'll admit it--I went to church yesterday hoping my pastor would provide some inspiration for today's blog post. And he surely did. We're beginning a new series on Ruth.

And if there is anyone who understood grief, loss, and hardship, it would be Naomi and Ruth.

They lost it all. Home, spouse, children. For Naomi, maybe even a bit of her faith, too.

But, as my pastor pointed out, there is an underlying theme in the book of Ruth, spoken by Boaz himself:

"The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust."

Ruth had come to trust in Jehovah and knew that she could trust herself in the safety of his sheltering wings. She had lost much, but her heart was given to the care of the Father who wanted to protect and love her.

Ruth isn't the only place God talks about having wings with which to shelter us.

Jesus speaks in Matthew about longing to gather his people under his wings like a mother hen with her chicks.

The Psalms speak of being protected under God's wings and finding refuge. 

It all creates a beautiful picture of who our Father God is: a loving, protecting God who longs to keep his children safe, warm, loved under his outstretched wings. It is a comforting image to me, imagining God as stretching out himself to shelter us from the storms of life. 

I think we often forget that God is our Father, a good, perfect Father who longs to gather us to himself and comfort our heavy hearts.

Back to the story of Ruth, I think we all know how the story turns out. God cared for Naomi and Ruth through a godly man named Boaz. This man became a picture of Christ as he became a kinsman redeemer to Ruth. Per the laws of the day, he gave her and Naomi a child to remember their dead by. 

That child became the grandfather of King David and was in the line of Christ.

Just as Boaz redeemed the line of Elimelek, so Jesus redeemed us, his people. The God of Naomi and Ruth is our God, too. The same God who cared for them also cares for us.

I hope that, today, weary hearts can find peace under the comforting, protective wings of our Father God. Take a moment just to rest in the knowledge that he loves you.