Food for ThoughtPsalm 55:6
Food for Thought
An all-creatures.org Guide to Kingdom Living

By Marni Montanez

Psalm 55:6

New King James Version (NKJV)

6 So I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.

What would that be like?  "wings like a dove".   This person was struggling. He was stressed and at a point of surrender.  He could see His inability to move forward.  We've all been there. When life gets to be too much we want the pain to stop.  Whether it's physical, mental, emotional or spiritual we want the storm raging around us to stop. 

When we get to this lowest point of our self,  we are no longer seeking answers.  We are looking for relief. Our lives are in an upheaval and we want the normalcy to return.  We want our control back.

Some of us are exhausted and what could come from this exhaustion is depression and hopelessness.  

David consistently and faithfully sought after His Creator. His eyes were steadfast upon the Lord. So the word wings in this context refers to the wings of the Lord. It can also mean the wings we develop as we trust and grow in the Lord.  With prayer and words of faith we cover ourselves with the wings of His presence.  The bible speaks of wings as a shadow or place to hide in;  it also means a place of healing and a covering over us.  These wings strengthen us. We need those wings and we need to be under these wings at all times.  So David is saying , right now if only I could be lifted in the Lord's healing and power and presence and strength, I would fly or be lifted up into the heavenly realm where my true love is.  Some verses call this place the mountain top.  Symbolic of the wings of Jesus is the prayer shawl called the tallit. This is a cloth that wraps around the shoulders and it takes the person into a place or a prayer closet where all else is shut out and the heart is fixed on Christ.  

This verse  is very specific about what kind of wings that are desired.   He desires wings like a dove. When Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, "Like" a dove. It's not a dove that descends upon him, it is the Holy Spirit in bodily form. The Spirit of God brings peace and is our peace and rest for our souls.  We must pursuit God with all our hearts in order to have a peace that is constant.  King David may want to get away from his responsibilities on earth and the demands on his life, but more important to him,  he wanted a deeper rest in God.  Rest brings healing.   To " rest" is to find refreshment for  our entire being.  We are lifted high from the oppression, destruction and self-will.  This is where we learn to relax in His anointing and from this place we can go forth in His strength and power.

As we learn to rest internally, our minds, our bodies, and our emotions will follow suit.  As we purpose to be with God, he responds quickly to our desire for Him and He begins deepening that desire until those wings become part of us and the peace of God reigns in our hearts.

My challenge:  when you feel like you just want to escape, don't just go somewhere that will benefit your body and mind,  exercise your will to submit to God.  Sing, dance and look up to heaven.  find your restoration under His wings as He lifts you up.

God bless

Marni

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lamb-rightThe purpose of this series is to encourage people to live as loving, compassionate, and peacemaking children of God: Jesus tells us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) God tells us through Micah (6:8), "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God." And we know from Revelation 21:4 that there will be no more mourning, or crying, or pain, or death. Thus, Christian living requires us to set the standards of these conditions here on earth for our fellow human beings, and for the other animals, as a witness to the rest of the world. To do otherwise is not Christian.