Click above to listen to track #12 Spread Your Wings from the new album So Loved as you read. You can enjoy the CD, MP3 Album, Piano Book and Sheet Music on the So Loved Album Page. You can stream the music on Spotify, iTunes-Apple Music, Amazon MP3, Pandora, and more.
How do the words “spread your wings” inspire your life journey right now?
For much of my life the words “spread your wings” were all about me. As a teenager and younger man I wanted to “spread my wings” — achieve success, have financial security, see the world, live a life of adventure on my own terms, etc. Eventually at age thirty I reached a point of surrender. Instead of “striving to achieve” I slowly began a new journey of “abiding to receive” God’s blessings of life purpose and provision. Little did I know, many years later I would compose an instrumental song titled Spread Your Wings, inspired by the story of Ruth. I hope the melody and these thoughts inspire your life journey today…
As I was creating the album So Loved from selected Bible characters and their stories, Ruth and Boaz were top contenders. The more I read the story and searched for a title (found in the book of Ruth, chapters 2 and 3), the phrase “spread your wings” stood out. Don’t we all aspire to live a “spread your wings” kind of life? And yet, as it was for me at first, doesn’t this make us think of spreading “our” wings to enjoy the freedom and independence this seems to offer? When Ruth said to Boaz, “Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer,” this is a picture for us of how God redeems us by His grace. Boaz was the son of Rahab the prostitute (her story inspired track #10 Scarlet Threads). Boaz and Ruth were great grandparents to Jesus by twenty-eight generations. Through Jesus God spreads His wings over us, covering all of our sins, and completely forgiving us. He offers us the “peace that surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7), and the opportunity to know and trust Jesus as our Savior and Friend. Wow. This is the kind of “spread your wings” life I want to live!
P.S. The opening 1:10 of the song expresses our longing for redemption, and the beauty of receiving God’s gift of salvation through Christ. Then the piano slowly “sings” the phrase “spread your wings over me” four times, followed by “spread your wings, spread your wings, spread your wings, over me” three times. After another verse section variation, beginning at 2:44 the chorus builds even larger all the way to the ending, repeating the above phrases over and over. This allows God to sing His Word over us as we surrender to and trust in His covering. Within the track the words “spread your wings” are played thirty-five times by the piano.
P.S.S. The bird in the photo is an African Darter, which I took in July 2015. Through my music and ministry Music to Light the World, my family and I were invited by Family Legacy to serve orphans in Lusaka, Zambia. We were able to visit Chobe National Park to see amazing wild life along the Chobe River in Botswana.
How can you go deeper in trusting God to spread His wings over you?
SPREAD YOUR WINGS | RUTH
Ruth 2 and 3. “Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” God protects us under His wings when we fully surrender to and trust in Him.
Hi Stanton,
Thanks for the great sharing! I loved how you talked about “spreading our wings.” It is so important for us to learn, as we can be scared of our own potential sometimes. Thanks for the reminder, and may we always strive to soar higher and higher.
Sam