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Good morning SVBC family and friends. Today I am thankful for the sunshine. Yesterday morning I awoke to a closed in foggy start to the day. Sun and light bring hope. So thank you God for sun.

Today, we look at Psalm 91:4. (ESV)

“He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.”

So let me start with one of my pet peeves with the English Standard Version. It focuses on being an “essentially literal” translation. To their credit, they try to give you all the words from the original languages so they don’t short change the reader. But here’s an example where they go a little too literal or maybe over think this. Pinions? A pinion is “the outer part of a bird’s wing including the flight feathers.” Ok. But who says “Look at that bird and its pinions?”

Let’s just go with what every other translation says – “He will cover you with his feathers and under his wings you will find refuge.” That’s a beautiful picture of self-sacrificing love. When a mother bird (or in some species the father) places the chicks under their wings, they protect them from too much heat or cold. But the protector bird still has to bear the heat or cold. So God protects His people and endures the threat on their behalf.

That sounds a lot like Jesus. He bore our punishment. He endured taunts, spitting, slapping and beating for us. He suffered on the cross so we would not have to die. In a deep sense, he covered us with his feathers and brought us under his wings.

Yet the Lord continues this protecting work today. He’s aware of all you’re going through. He knows exactly the pressure you’re under because of this virus and it’s impact. So we need to keep coming to Him and trust His covering protection. May you sense His cover and protection today.

“O Lord, we thank you for your covering and protection over us today. You showed this ultimately by sending Jesus. He covered and protected us from what we deserved. While we found refuge under His wings, He endured the heat and cold that we deserved. So because you have protected us in this ultimate way, we trust your protection over us for this day and going forward.