By
Leeann Wilhelmi
I have so much affection for my heavenly Father. His Word is illuminating what His stance is on His children . . . on me . . . and it is undoing me in all the best possible ways.
Yesterday I was reading about dove’s eyes. Song of Solomon 1:15, 5:12 say that the bridegroom proclaims “How very beautiful! Your eyes are like doves.” The King has spoken. He sees He has the worship of His bride and He delights in her. In her eyes He picks up on her deep affection, and perhaps in that He perceives her faithfulness to Him, her sincerity, her tenderness.
This past week I noticed for the first time a dove nesting on top of an electric box mounted to the side of the house. I was noisily uncoiling the garden hose from its holder and my eyes were drawn up, no doubt by the Lord Himself, to see this lovely, innocent avian watching me. Surely if she thought I might harm her or her babies, she would have flown away. Instead, she just watched and waited while I quieted my efforts and calmed my movements.
As if this weren’t enough to get my mind going, I came inside and heard Tasha Cobbs Leonard’s song DOVE’S EYES. Okay. Now God had my full attention. I began at that moment to see what I would find on the internet about doves. I learned that doves’ eyes can only look forward, have no peripheral vision and secondly, that they have one mate for life. I came to the conclusion that they are not easily distracted due to this focus and that their thoughts are for each other and their delight is in each other.
It's beyond understanding that this was true of God first – we love because He loved us first! As I write this I feel the call to BEHOLD! Breaking this down further, when I see the face of my Father, I have no choice (if I have truly seen Him) but to look. I have no choice but to be still. I have no choice but to wait. I have no choice but to reach out. I must touch Him. I must listen for His voice. I must withdraw with Him and give Him my full attention.
Psalm 32:8 says, “You will guide me with Your eye.” The prerequisite here is that my eyes are on Him – undistracted, devoted.
Psalm 27:4 says, “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.”
Let me draw the curtains closed. Find me feasting on His goodness, my ear on His chest, my hands intertwined with His, my ear inclined to His voice. I am awed.