Wishing I Had Wings

While I was reading Psalm 55 the other day, I was reminded of sixth grade. Most days, I did not want to go to school. I was a lot smaller that a lot of my classmates, and the hallways were packed full. As I struggled up the stairs in the current of backpacks, I often wished I could fly away. When I read Psalm 55, I found out David felt the same way.

When David was having a really tough time and he felt overwhelmed, he said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest! I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness. How quickly I would escape—far from this wild storm of hatred” (Psalm 55:6-8). But David couldn’t leave. He didn’t have wings. And neither did I.

When David couldn’t get away, when his heart was pounding in his chest, he turned to God and cried out for help. David told God all about the conflict, the threats, the cheating, and the violence going on all around him. Even David’s close friend—a friend he used to walk with on the way to worship God—was now taunting and insulting him. David told God about all of it, and God listened. He had compassion on David. And He didn’t leave David to struggle alone. Even when David was in distress, he wrote, “But I will call on God, and the Lord will rescue me...the Lord hears my voice. He ransoms me and keeps me safe...” (verses 16-18).

Throughout our lives, we find ourselves in places that feel negative, even hostile. For me, school was one of those places. Teasing among peers and even friends, suspicion between teachers and students, gossip, lockdown drills, fights in the hallways... sometimes it all felt like too much. But even in these places, God says that He is “our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble” (Psalm 46:1).

During my days at school, I prayed more prayers than I can count. And God met me in my distress. Slowly, gently, faithfully, He drew me closer to Himself and revealed His great kindness. He gave me the courage to keep going, and He provided safe places where I could find rest in the midst of the chaos and safe people I could talk to. I found what David said to be true: “Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you” (Psalm 55:22). • Hannah Howe

• Have you ever felt like David did in Psalm 55? We all go through hard things, but if we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we can rest in the sure hope that nothing can separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:38-39).

Oh, that I had wings like a dove... Psalm 55:6 (NLT)