We’ve all heard the phrase “You are the wind beneath my wings,” a metaphor expressing gratitude toward someone whose support has enabled us to succeed, flourish, or achieve greatness in life.
A bird or aircraft is able to defy gravity because air moving beneath its wings generates lift. The phrase came to fame through the song Wind Beneath My Wings, written by Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley, and recorded by Bette Midler. The lyrics contrast the visible success of one person with the hidden contribution of another: “Did you ever know that you’re my hero?”
The “hero” is not the person in the spotlight but the one behind the scenes. In the song, the speaker is saying, “You may not receive the attention or recognition, but your support made all the difference. You encouraged me when I was feeling down. You gave me strength, stability, inspiration, hope. Without you, I would never be able to soar.”
The phrase has entered the language as a way to describe a devoted spouse or parent, a trusted friend, a mentor or teacher, or anyone whose encouragement and sacrifice helped another person thrive.
From a Christian perspective, the phrase is often used to describe quiet acts of service that enable others to exercise their gifts. It resonates with the New Testament image of the body of Christ, where some members are highly visible while others work unseen, yet all are indispensable to the success of the mission (see 1 Cor 12).
But here in the last two verses of the Letter of Jude, it is God who is the wind beneath our wings. God supports us, encourages us, and gives us strength, stability, inspiration and hope. Without God, we would never soar.
This little letter of Jude reveals a pastor deeply concerned for the church – its purity, vitality, theology, leadership, prayerfulness, mercy, and witness. Jude begins his letter with prayer in verses 1 and 2, and returns to prayerful praise as he concludes in verses 24 and 25.
Several New Testament letters conclude with a benediction – a blessing upon God’s people. Jude closes with a doxology – an expression of praise celebrating who God is and what God has done.
The first Christians often used doxologies to conclude their prayers, sermons and sections of pastoral letters (New Testament examples include Rom 16:25-27; Eph 3:20; Php 4:20; 1 Tim 6:15f; 1 Pet 4:11; 5:11; 2 Pet 3:18). The Christian doxology tends to follow a pattern:
- the one praised (God)
- an expression of praise (e.g., “glory be to…”)
- an indication of time (e.g., “forever”)
- a concluding affirmation (“Amen,” that is, “let it be so”)
Some include a phrase such as “through Jesus Christ,” as Jude does.
Jude begins, “Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling” (cf similar words in Rom 16:25-27; Eph 3:20). The Christian life is not ultimately grounded in our ability to hold on to God but in God’s ability to hold on to us. Jude wants his readers to know that failure and collapse need not define their future. God is able to keep them from stumbling.
In verse 1, Christians are those who are “kept for Jesus Christ.” In verse 21, they are exhorted to “keep yourselves in God’s love.” Our world is filled with temptations, distractions, disappointments, and uncertainties. We know our own weaknesses all too well. But our perseverance is grounded in God’s prior and continuing grace. God is not merely interested in our beginning the race of faith. God is committed to bringing us safely to our goal.
This language echoes the Psalms, where God’s people repeatedly celebrate God as the one who keeps their feet from slipping. The God who watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps (Ps 121:3f).
Biblical scholar Christopher Green captures Jude’s meaning beautifully when he says, “We will never fall over our own feet, nor will someone else be able to wrong-foot us.”[1]
But God does even more than protect us from falling. Jude continues: God is able “to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy.” We sometimes speak of Christians who die as being “promoted to glory.” Those who die in Christ have not lost the race. They have finished it. They are safe. They are home. They will stand.
Scripture reminds us that sinful humans cannot stand before God on the basis of their own righteousness. Yet the gospel announces that what we cannot achieve for ourselves, God has accomplished for us through Jesus Christ.
Those who trust in Christ are united with him. His obedience becomes their obedience. His righteousness becomes their righteousness. His victory becomes their victory. That is why Jude says believers will stand before God “without blemish.” The phrase recalls the sacrificial language of the Old Testament and points ultimately to Jesus, who offered himself as “a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Pet 1:19).
We are far from perfect. We continue to struggle, repent, and grow. Yet God’s saving purpose is moving us toward a glorious future in which every stain of sin will be removed. And we shall stand before God not with terror, but “with great joy.”
Jude envisions a public celebration, a triumphant rejoicing, the kind of joy experienced at the conclusion of a long and costly war. There will be no shame, no fear, no anxiety, no imposter syndrome. God’s redeemed people will rejoice in his presence forever.
Then, in verse 25, Jude lifts our eyes even higher: “To the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power and authority.” Jude affirms the uniqueness of God in a world crowded with competing loyalties and rival claims to devotion. There is only one God, and this God is our Saviour.
Yet this salvation comes “through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Here we encounter the distinctive heart of Christian faith. It is through Jesus that we come to know God, receive forgiveness, and offer our worship, thanksgiving, confession, and supplications.
Jude then attributes four great qualities to God:
- “glory” – the honour and praise due to his name.
- “majesty” – God’s transcendent greatness above all creation.
- “power” – his sovereign ability to accomplish his purposes.
- “authority” – his rightful rule over all things.
These themes echo the praise of King David in 1 Chronicles 29, where he declares that greatness, power, glory, splendour, and majesty belong to God alone.
Finally, Jude concludes his doxology: “before all time and now and forever. Amen” (v. 25d; cf Mt 12:32). The rule and reign of God transcends time. There is no end to the life and the love of God. Jesus too is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb 13:8). He is utterly reliable.
That brings us back to where we began. Many of us can identify people who have been the wind beneath our wings. Parents, spouses, teachers, pastors, mentors, and friends have strengthened us along the journey of life. We thank God for bringing each of them across our path, into our lives.
But behind every human act of love and encouragement stands the greater reality of God’s sustaining grace. Look back over your life. When we were weak, God upheld us. When we were fearful, God strengthened us. When we were tempted to give up, God kept us. When we could not see the way ahead, God guided us. And when our life’s journey has run its course, through grace, God promises to bring us safely into his glorious presence.
The God whom Jude praises is not merely the God who gives us wings. He is the God who provides the lift. He is the strength beneath our weakness, the hope beneath our fears, the grace beneath our perseverance, and the unending joy awaiting us at journey’s end.
God is the wind beneath our wings.
Sermon 857 copyright © 2026 Rod Benson. Preached at North Rocks Community Church, Sydney, Australia, on Sunday 7 June 2026. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The Christian Standard Bible (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020).
Rev Dr Rod Benson is General Secretary of the NSW Ecumenical Council and a minister of the Uniting Church in Australia serving at North Rocks Community Church in Sydney.
Reference
[1] Christopher Green, The Message of 2 Peter and Jude (Downers Grove: IVP, 1995), 231.
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