The title of Ernest’s solo, ‘O, for the Wings of a Dove’, is based on verses from Psalm 55: ‘Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. I would flee far away and stay in the desert; I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm’ (Psalm 55:6–8 New International Version).
The psalm writer wasn’t having a good day. He was busy fighting a battle, his stronghold was under siege
and the enemy seemed to be gaining ground. To make matters worse, he had also been betrayed by someone he thought was a loyal friend. In distress and fear, he makes this urgent prayer: ‘Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught’ (55:1, 2).
But then he does what many of us do. He longs to escape from it all - ‘Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!’ - in the hope that his troubles will somehow magically disappear.
How do we cope when the going gets tough? We may choose to ignore unpleasant situations by burying our head in the sand and hoping they will go away on their own. The bad news is, they usually don’t! At some point, we have to face up to reality and deal with them.
As the psalmist reflects on God’s past goodness towards him, his fears are quelled and his soul calmed. His friend may have deserted him, but he finds peace in knowing that God never will.
We can take his sound advice for difficult times: ‘Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you’ (55:22). God doesn’t promise to make our problems go away, but he does promise to give us the strength to get through them.
UK & Ireland War Cry June 2013
Photo credit: War Cry pictures
