Driven by a Dove

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. As soon as He came up out of the water, He saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending to Him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: You are My beloved Son; in You I take delight!

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. – Mark 1:9-12

I will instruct you and show you the way to go; with My eye on you, I will give counsel. Do not be like the horse or mule, without understanding, that must be controlled with bit and bridle, or else it will not come near you. – Psalm 32:8,9 (The phrase “with My eye on you, I will give counsel” maybe be better in the King James Version, rendered as “I will guide thee with mine eye”. )

If you want confirmation of your identity, your calling, or a life mission statement, having the heavens rent and hearing the audible voice of God is fairly certain.

I am reminded of the young hillbilly who went to the church board and told them he thought he was called to preach because he had seen the letters “P C” in the clouds over his field and he took it to mean he was to “Preach Christ”. After a careful examination and prayerful consideration, the board called the young man back in, and said, “Son, we believe you saw P C in the clouds and we agree it was a message from the Lord, but we think He was telling you to ‘Plow Corn’.”

Unlike Jesus and our plowboy, most of us will never receive such a dramatic testimony of our destiny.

As Jesus was baptized, we see that the Holy Spirit descended to Him “like a dove” – that is, gently, quietly, and delicately. The dove is depicted in the Bible as “harmless”. Yet this gentle, harmless, dove-like Spirit then drove the Lord into a place of isolation and desolation. Being obedient to God means that we could find ourselves in a difficult place of trial and testing. Though this is a very traditional and orthodox view, it doesn’t find much room in some of the more modern, profit-oriented spiritual teachings.

When you change your belief system and begin to trust in Christ Jesus, your spirit – your human spirit is renewed, given life, and liberated. There is a new awareness that accompanies this awakening. You are now capable of following the subtle urgings of the Dove. You have understanding and a new insight. Certainly God can and does use those without understanding, but that is not His preference. The mule-headed will have the bit put in their mouth and they will go where He wants, however reluctantly. There is no spiritual will involved. Even in doing good, they remain creatures without understanding of the spiritual reality they serve.

If you are going to be driven by a dove, you will have to keep your eye on it. You will follow its flight, the inclination of its head, and the direction of its gaze. The Psalm expresses this idea as well. You watch the Master. He glances in a direction, and His gaze lingers there for a moment. You get up and walk that path.

Anyone can follow orders. Anyone can respond to pressure, punishment, and reward. Anyone can follow signs. If we insist on following our own way, we will remain in spiritual bondage. “We too all previously lived … in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and by nature we were children under wrath …” (Ephesians 2:3). We are not meant for this. Harsh discipline and a heavy hand are not what we need expect. We can obey willingly and purposefully, delighting in the Lord. As we immerse ourselves in this relationship that is open to us, we increase our understanding – we have the mind of Christ as Paul says. We think like Him, have His attitude. And attitude is closely related to “spirit”. Here is transformation: having our minds renewed.

Is there discipline? Yes. Is there sweat and effort and struggle? Yes. It happens in breaking free of the deceptions of "the prince of the power of the air". We will agonize over what we must lay aside. That is the weight room, the training room, the wilderness. But we live in grace. Jesus accepted His trial in the wilderness. When He returned from the testing, He maintained His close relationship with His Father throughout His journey while doing the impossible, without once going into a panic or breaking a sweat. Only when He came to Gethsemane and the ultimate trial of being separated from the Father did He again agonize. There He overcame and then endured the most extreme test imaginable -- with grace.

We see someone accomplish some difficult thing with what seems to be little or no effort at all, and we call that grace. The realm of God is the realm of grace. Children of the kingdom are children of grace. If we keep our attention on the soft, subtle leading of the Spirit, our obedience will be full of grace, freedom, and joy.

But God, who is abundant in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. By grace you are saved! (Ephesian 2:4,5)