Grace Over Pain

We had a powerful church service yesterday and one of the messages that came across was God’s protection.

In my quiet time this morning, the Holy Spirit showed me a picture of chicks under the wings of their mother and i felt a leading to blog about it.

Amongst several benefits i enjoyed from growing in a small town, the ability to be able to appreciate nature at it’s best has to be at the top of my list. I was privileged to enjoy fresh air, eat fresh fruits straight from the trees, experiencing the calming feeling and smell that comes after a heavy rainfall, travel with less or no traffic (very good) lol.

I also have a memory of watching the way animals behaved. Although we never had animals ourselves, we had neighbours who had goats and hens. The relationship between the mother hen and her chicks is one everyone should see :).

The mother hen is very protective of her chicks. She looks out for her chicks and not chicks from another mother hen. She is particular about the chicks that identifies with her –  the ones birthed from her. This makes me remember how Jesus prayed for the people God put under His care (John 17: 24 – Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!). Beautiful thing to think about 🙂

There was a day i was outside and i saw an owl trying to steal a chick from her mother. The mother hen saw the owl before the chicks even noticed and immediately she started making sounds and flapping her wings so all her babies could come under her wings for safety. I watched all the chicks running under the wings of their mum except one. And as expected, the owl went for that vulnerable chick. When i saw this, i quickly scared the owl away. The owl went but didn’t go far.

Few seconds later, the owl came back for another try. Mother hen gave a signal again. All went except this particular chick. At this point i wasn’t quick enough and the owl went away with that chick.

I watched as the mother hen shouted and try to run after the owl. But there was little she could do as she can’t really fly high.

This is exactly what our relationship with God looks like. God sees the satan from afar as he is planning to attack us. He makes sounds by speaking to us through His spirit, His word and He sends people our way to caution us. He shuts that door so we can’t walk into danger but we all don’t always heed to His warnings. Like that stubborn chick, we ignore the signs maybe because we feel we are now old enough to be on our own. We ignore the need to be under authorities. We shun the idea of having accountability partners because we think we are spiritually mature enough.

Sometimes we are lucky to experience mercy and that scares the devil away. However he never goes away totally. He is always roaming about (Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8). He goes to return another day (Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.” Matthew 12:45). And when he meets us again outside the shadow of the Almighty, he attacks and steals.

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
    will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

If you make the Lord your refuge,
    if you make the Most High your shelter,
no evil will conquer you;
    no plague will come near your home. (Psalm 91:1,9-10)

There is a condition attached to our protection. You have to be of God to be protected by God. If we decide not to live and dwell in the shelter of God, if we decide not to make God our refuge, safety is not guaranteed.

Just like that mother hen, God is flapping His wings. He is making sounds for us to heed to His warning. The end is near. God is stirring the earth. The earth is crying out. We can see what is happening around us. Are you protected? The devil and his agents are about to be thrown into the lake of fire. The devil is fighting hard and devising techniques to snatch us away. He is distracting us with bills, careers, jobs, kids, money, fame, and everything he can just so he doesn’t end up in hell alone.

Would you heed the warnings of God? His wings are wide opened. Run into it. Outside God is death.