Daily life is full of unexpected dangers. We wake up each morning never fully knowing what trials, temptations, or troubles may come our way. The psalmist understood this reality well, yet he found security—not in circumstances—but in God. In Psalm 61 he sings, “Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!” That beautiful image paints God as a place of safety, protection, and peace. When fear rose, he didn’t run to people—he ran to God. When uncertainty threatened his heart, he found stability by staying close to the One who never changes. He learned a powerful truth: peace is not found in the absence of danger—but in the presence of God.
Jesus used that same image when He looked over Jerusalem with a broken heart. He cried out, “How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings—but you were not willing!” (Luke 13:34). What a picture of divine love! Jesus wants to protect, shelter, and care for us—but many still refuse His invitation. The tragedy then—and now—is that people choose fear over faith, independence over surrender, and danger over divine protection.
More than a thousand years after David, a man named William Cushing discovered the comfort of God’s wings in his own life. Cushing had been a pastor, but illness stole his voice and with it, his ministry. Discouraged and broken, he cried out to God—and God answered in an unexpected way. Though he could no longer preach, God gave him the gift of writing. Cushing went on to write over 300 gospel hymns that have encouraged believers for more than a century. One of his best-loved hymns echoes the psalmist’s cry:
Under His wings I am safely abiding;
Though the night deepens and tempests are wild,
Still I can trust Him—I know He will keep me;
He has redeemed me, and I am His child.
Under His wings, what a refuge in sorrow!
How the heart yearningly turns to His rest!
Often when earth has no balm for my healing,
There I find comfort and there I am blest.
Under His wings, O what precious enjoyment!
There will I hide till life’s trials are o’er;
Sheltered, protected, no evil can harm me;
Resting in Jesus I’m safe evermore.