Responding to the Dove
Genesis 8:9 (KJV) But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. Then he (Noah) put forth his hand and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.
Lord, I guess I thought I would always need to scramble and scuffle to gain Your favor and come into Your presence. I guess I thought I needed to produce the right behavior or adhere to the right formula. But the dove here shows me that I need only to come near and that You, like Noah, will be looking for me to pull me to Yourself. If I only come near, even if I don’t know quite where to go, You are looking for me and will grab hold of me and help me, pulling me to Yourself, into Your love and safety. When You send me off to do assignments for You, You are thinking of me and how I’m faring. You are missing me and wanting me back in Your Presence (though You are always with me). You are wanting us to be together again.
Oh, how Noah shows me Your tenderness! Oh, the exposure of Your heart! Oh, the romance of this–that You want to respond to me! This is huge! What?! I guess I considered You to be a reluctant God, not an eager lover. When I say to You, “I love You,” You delight to hear it and You respond, “I love you, too.” I don’t just throw my affection out to the wind and have You sit unresponsive. You don’t ignore me or put me off until later. This so comforts me. You are eager to respond to my love for You, my searchings for You, my drawings close to You.
I am not referring here to things like the Lord answering us when we make our formal petitions in prayer. I’m not talking about a sterile answer to a prayer request. No, here I am referring to His response to the vulnerable gushings of our hearts of love for Him. And how does He respond? With the vulnerable gushings of His heart for us! This is remarkable. He loves us. When we also love Him, He gushes with response, and it is more than I can take in!
So I can stop the mechanical version of James 4:8: ”Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” It’s not a formula I can use to create the right atmosphere. I can’t sing the right song, say the right words, or do the right tap dance. No, I draw near with true love, and the Lord responds.
Lord, I have been too accustomed to unrequited love, to loving others in various ways, and yet having it not be returned, at least not to the same degree. I loved church people; they betrayed me. I loved a man; he rejected me. But when I love You, You respond—with tenderness and genuineness and abandon. You respond with a complete love, not one that measures, adjusts, and holds back. I am overwhelmed.
And Lord, Noah put forth his hand to pull her to himself. The use of his hand is a picture of tenderness. He could have just opened the window and let her fly back in. Instead, he put forth his hand to help her, to cover her, to comfort her, for this is what hands do. The touch of the hand – from this You ordain healing of bodies and consolation of souls.
Song of Songs 5:2 (NASB) The Bride:
“I was asleep but my heart was awake.
A voice! My beloved was knocking:
‘Open to me, my sister, my darling,
My dove, my perfect one!…