Lesson in a Chicken Coop
- Beth Mims
- Apr 7
- 4 min read
Our newest hen in the chicken coop looks like she just came out of the dryer and forgot to brush her feathers. Such a fluffy white thing, not fully grown, she fits her name, “Fluffy”, that our granddaughter gave her.
Fluffy came to us with a friend, a *keet, with whom she had bonded, but unfortunately the keet died shortly after coming to live with us leaving young Fluffy alone.
As the youngest and smallest of the chickens, Fluffy became henpecked. We joke about this among humans, but henpecked is a real thing in a chicken coop. Chickens will choose a chicken to pick on, and they can make their life miserable. They chase the henpecked chicken away from food, peck it, and isolate it from the rest of the flock. If the henpecking is not curbed, it can result in the death of the chicken.
I began watching Fluffy as I gathered the eggs and fed the chickens daily. She tended to stay high on a roost pole away from the flock, only coming down to grab a few bites to eat and a little water. She darted in and out quickly, avoiding the other chickens as much as possible. Still, they ran at her. I stood in the coop to let her scratch for food, but I could tell she was nervous.
Not only was she nervous, but she was also lonely. Even though I stood as her protector, she would run over to the other chickens to try to be close to them. Her efforts always ended in rejection, though. Soon, she found her way back to the top of the roost. She let me pet her as she ate out of my hand.
I fixed a special tray for her to eat from on her roost pole, and she ate hungrily. I made sure she had a chance to get water. I couldn’t ease her loneliness, though.
One afternoon, when I went out to gather the eggs, I noticed an unusual sight. One of the larger hens was on the roost with Fluffy, and she was sitting on top of the small chicken. Indignantly, I pushed the large hen aside. No sooner had I moved her than Fluffy scooted right back under her. “Huh,” I thought. “What’s this?”
I scooted the hen again.
This time the hen gently reached out her wing and placed it over Fluffy who nestled close beside her.
That was the picture in my mind as I read Psalm 57 this morning.
David is henpecked by Saul, and he has fled to cave to hide. Verse one of Psalm 57 says,
“Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge until these calamities be overpast.”
The psalm goes on to tell how David is persecuted and caught among the evil ones. They have prepared traps for him.
David’s defense, however, is his praise to God. In the middle of his description of his persecution, he stops to exalt the name of God.
“Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth” (verse 5).
David is not shaken by the ongoing onslaught of Saul’s armies. He is not tempted to turn from his trust in God. His faith is steadfast, and he proclaims this in verse seven.
“My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.”
Verse seven begins a praise chorus that finishes the psalm. David was so wrapped up in praising God that he forgot the agony of the henpecking that he continued to endure from Saul and his minions. David was protected in the shadow of God’s wings and he rested there
like Fluffy rested under the wings of the red hen.
I love the way God shows us examples in this world of His loving care.
Once I saw that Fluffy had found an protector, I knew that she would be okay in the coop.
We have a protector in this world. He is Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. Just like David, we can rest in Him.
*keet – a juvenile guinea fowl
“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. 3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. 4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. 6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. 8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore” (Psalm 121:1 – 8, KJV).
Father, thank You for keeping me in the shadow of Your wings. Like David, I exalt Your name above the heavens and I sing and give praise for all that You are. You are good and righteous and holy. Your mercy is great, and Your truth is forever. Let Your glory cover the Earth. In Jesus Holy name I pray.
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