Genesis 8:3

…then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.

When the rain had ceased and the flood waters were going down, God sent out two birds. The first was a raven, and it flew over the waters and soon found some dead bodies floating on the water. A raven can feed on such things, so it did not return to the Ark. But Noah also sent out a dove. How gladly she flew away, glad to be free of the months cooped up in the boat.

Free at last, she could go in any direction she chose, with no one to tell her what to do or where to go.   But after awhile she began to tire, and looked around for a place to rest.   There was nothing around for her to set on, only water. There were some dead bodies floating around, but the things that satisfied the raven would not satisfy the dove.

She flew on and on, and began to become weary, and her wings began to droop. She thought, “I can not go on like this much longer, I had better go back to Noah and the Ark…..But she did not fly so fast now, how weary she had become. At last she saw the Ark, a mere speck in the distance.. She was so glad to see it , but it was so far off she didn’t think she could make it that far.

Noah was at the window watching her return, and just as she reached the limit of her strength, just as she flew the last few yards, Noah leaned out of the window and “put forth his hand and took her, and pulled her into himself.

Have you ever felt like that tired Dove?   Many of us have gone our own way to the point we are very tired, and can find no peace in the things that satisfy the rest of the world. But the Lord Jesus is waiting, watching, ready to welcome back the weary traveler. He says “Come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” And He is not so far away that His eyes can’t see, nor so far away that His arm cannot reach out and pull a tired traveler back into His loving care……Ada Habershon