Sitting at my desk at five in the morning it is quite, very quite. The only sound is a clock ticking. My thoughts are not quite. I read my Bible and desire so much for God to speak to me through His Word. I'm listening in the quietness. I realize in the background, there's a mourning dove cooing outside my window. He's been at it sometime but I just really started paying attention. I wonder what he is saying this early, while it's still dark outside.
Doves are resilient. Although they are the most hunted bird for their meat, they have the ability to retain their population. The doves' sorrowful sound of "woo-oo-oo" evoke a feeling of grief over the loss of a loved one. I witnessed a dove mourning once. He was sitting on the electrical wire over my drive-way. He kept cooing all day. I finally walked over to where he was above me. Then I understood. Doves mate for life. His mate lay dead on the ground above the line where he sat mourning for her. Isaiah 38:14 says, "I cried like a bird and moaned like a dove. My eyes became tired, but I continued looking to the heavens. Lord, I am so depressed. Promise to help me."
Doves are also used as symbols and to bring a positive message. During the flood, Noah sent out a dove to look for dry ground and the dove returned with an olive leaf bringing hope that the flood was receding. When Jesus was baptized, the Spirit of God descended like a dove on Him symbolizing the Holy Spirit and as one of the figures of the Trinity. Doves have also been thought of as a symbol of peace.
A doves cooing seems to help sooth a hurting heart over the death of a loved one. I know a man who after losing his son, was sitting on his porch when a dove landed beside him, cooing, as if to say, I mourn with you.
After these thoughts, I open a devotional and read over it. Wait.... what did that say? I re-read it; "My heart is in anguish within me......I said, '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'" ( From Psalm 55). Wow, God. You are speaking through a bird cooing and a Scripture verse!
I get that Scripture verse and I understand what David is saying. How many times have I wanted to go find reclusion from the world and hide-out! I have, at times, wanted to be alone with my grief and anguish. Times when I didn't have to be around anyone, or to face any demands of life. I think we all get to a point where we need to "get-away" and rest. Even Jesus saw the importance of this and required His disciples to do the same: "Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest" (Mark 6:31). It's necessary for a while. However, we can't stay there. Life calls. Even if we could "hide-out," "fly-away," from family and friends it isn't emotionally, mentally or spiritually healthy to be alone for long periods. We need each other.
I was forced to come away from my reclusion. I didn't want to, but it was necessary. I can see now how that actually helped me in my grief to allow others to minister to me. Also, to get my mind occupied on something beside my circumstances for a time. But most importantly, to let the grace of God be seen coming through my life. God was/is working His grace out in my life. Others need to see Jesus working in us.
Usually getting away is short-lived because there is always work to be done. Jesus' time alone was always short because there were so many needy people seeking Him out. His compassion for those people overrode his need for reclusion. Thank God for that and thank Him that He still has compassion on us and meets our needs. He's not "hiding out" somewhere.
My favorite place is the mountains. That's where I go to be alone and get some rest. Ed and I have a special place in the mountains where we love to "Fly away" and rest. It's our sanctuary.
In the last part of Psalm 55, David said, "Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you." Sustain means: to give support or relief to; to supply with sustenance; Nourish; To support the weight of. Peter says something of the same, "Casting all your cares all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all on Him, for He cares about you with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully" (1 Peter 5:7)AMP.
Maybe we should be more like doves...being strong and resilient after bad things happen through the grace and strength of the Lord, consoling the hurting and offering hope. Lasting hope can only be found in the One to whom the dove like descended: Jesus. He gives peace; the kind that passes all understanding.
