Like a Dove

"and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove..." Luke 3:22

After Jesus was baptized in water, heaven opened up and the Holy Spirit came down from heaven, looking like a dove, and rested on Him. Why do you think God had the Holy Spirit look like a dove? There's another place in the Bible that talks about a dove. It was with Noah. After the rain stopped Noah opened the window of the ark and sent out a raven. The raven flew here and there until the water was dried up from the earth. The raven never came back to let Noah know what was going on. It just went on its way exploring the earth. 

Then, Noah sent out a dove, but the dove couldn't find a place to rest so she came back to the ark. The dove came back to Noah, letting him know the water was still flooded over the earth. I love how the Bible says that Noah put out his hand and took her into the ark. You can just picture Noah putting out his hand, the dove landing on it and him very gently bringing her into the ark.

The dove, like the Holy Spirit, will rest with someone who is happy to have her. The Holy Spirit has a special way to talk to us too. Just like Noah's dove. After Noah's dove came back the first time, he waited seven days and sent her out again. This time the dove returned in the evening with a freshly picked olive leaf. Noah understood what that meant--that the water was gone down from the earth. Seven days after that he sent her out again and she did not return. It was time to get ready to leave the ark! Noah learned from the dove even though she didn't speak to him in words. How helpful it is to welcome the dove and learn the language of the Holy Spirit.

See Genesis 8:6-12