Lessons from the Doves

In recent days, much of our life as we have known it has changed, and we have entered a new season. A season of waiting, wondering, and resting. Or perhaps a season of hardship, sorrow, and anxiety. During this time of the pandemic, and racial, civil, and political tensions, when anxieties are high, headlines call out for our undivided attention. Because changes to daily life presents challenges, it is easy to drown in a human perspective of this season in time.

Yet, Scripture uses ordinary things in life to reveal God’s character and our treasure. God’s Word gives us eternal hope and purpose. Listen to what Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:26: “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more valuable than they?” Our family has had the joy of watching a family of mourning doves right by our front door for two consecutive springs now. We watched the pair build their nest, sit on the nest, and feed their young. We watched as they saw their babies out of the nest and learned to fly from the ground to branches. Eventually, their babies flew off on their own. As I observed the doves each day the past couple of weeks, I thought about how they carried on without any concern. They didn’t pine over days past when the sun was warm, or regret the worm they missed earlier that morning. They didn’t even worry about the snowstorm that was forecasted for the next night (even though I did!). They just did what God created them to do each day, in each season. And God provided for them all.

God gives us seasons. Not only meteorological seasons, but also seasons in life (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). Seasons can change quickly, catching us off guard. However, while our seasons change, we are always confronted with both truth and opportunity. The truth is that while our seasons change, God remains steadfast. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Numbers 23:19; Hebrews 13:8; James 1:17). And while God Himself never changes, He is in the business of changing us.

Prior to Jesus’ illustration of the birds in Matthew 6:26, He tells us that we should not lay up treasures on earth (Matthew 6:19), and then concludes the section that we are to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you ” (Matthew 6:33). His message for us is that if our treasure—what we love, desire, and live for—lies anywhere but in Christ, we will wind up anxious and empty (much like the author of Ecclesiastes concludes!). He even reveals that misplaced treasure is a result of a lack of faith in God’s awareness (omniscience), goodness, ability, and power to provide (omnipotence). Yet God is ever true to His promises, and uses both the difficult and the plentiful seasons of life to reveal what we live for and where our security comes from, so that we might place our treasure in the right place—God’s kingdom.

The opportunity is for us to respond with faith that God has a purpose in each season of our life. We can grow in Christlikeness as each season unfolds. This does not mean that we deny the complex reality of our season, but it does mean that we can look at it by faith through the lens of the greater reality that God is sovereign, good, and loving. Our seasons change, but God remains. Confess the areas that you find you have misplaced treasure. Confess areas of unbelief. Have faith that He will provide for you. Not only for your material and physical needs, but more importantly your spiritual needs. God will use all things (including seasons) for your good and His glory (Romans 8: 28-29). So where are you? What season are you in? Are you longing for yesterday, struggling through today, or worrying about tomorrow? Consider the birds and ask God what He has for you to do today, in this season. He knows exactly what you need for every aspect of your life, and He will generously provide.

Maggie Wiebe earned her MA from The Master’s University in 2019, and is a certified ACBC counselor.