Our last check-in with Noah on the ark (on his 601st birthday) left us with the thought that – no matter our feelings or how things appear, we should wait on God for His timing. As Eric and Leslie Ludy of Ellerslie put it:
“Psalm 27:14 tells us, ‘Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord’ (NIV).
“Why is the phrase ‘be strong and take heart’ associated with waiting for the Lord? Because taking time to wait and let God make your path clear requires strength of soul — it requires faith. The Bible says that God is a ‘rewarder of those who diligently seek Him’ (Heb. 11:6). Do we believe that promise? Are we willing to diligently seek Him in order to find the reward that He has for those who wait expectantly on Him?”
Now, we know that Noah sought God diligently, for he was
described as one who “walked with God.” He was rewarded in part when God gave him
specific directions to build the ark which would be a literal life-saver for
only 8 people and all the animals God chose to rescue from well-deserved judgement
through the worldwide flood.
But being strong in the Lord does not always look as we
expect. Sometimes it involves sitting and waiting for Him. It also entails believing and trusting that His ways are higher and better than ours.
And so Noah waited.
More than three months passed after
the dove returned with the freshly plucked olive leaf and then moved out of the ark for
good. Eight whole weeks passed after Noah removed the covering of the ark and
saw the dry ground.
And still he waited. … For what??
For the same Voice that had sent him into the ark in the
first place! As impatient as he could have grown, the very walls shutting Noah
in were clear testimonies to the faithfulness of God… showing that He could be
trusted to take care of His children.
And after all that waiting and trusting… On Day number 376 since being shut in the ark:
“God said to Noah, ‘Go out from the ark, you and your
wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. Bring out with you every
living thing that is with you of all flesh… and be fruitful and multiply on the
earth.’” – Genesis 8:15-17
[Can't you just about hear the Halleluia Chorus ringing out from the ark?!]
“So Noah went out…”
THE END!
Just kidding. There is more to the story, including Noah’s
first action on dry ground once again being to build and altar and sacrifice to
the LORD. Then God made a very special promise to Noah and all his descendants
(including you and me!) which involved a rainbow.
But I’ll let you read it all for yourself.
After all, I think I’ve written enough words on this topic over the past 13 months! The question now is, are we going to learn from Noah? Are we going to walk
with God, trust God, obey God, and wait on God?
By His grace!
~ Hannah
See previous posts in series here:
Part
I: The Lord
Shut Him In
Part II: Day 10: The
Animals
Part III: Day 20: The
Man Noah
Part IV: Day 30: The
Walls
Part V: Day 40: What
God Says... He Does
Part VI: Day 70:
After the Crisis
Part VII: Day 100:
When Waiting Turns to Years
Part VIII: Day 150:
Touch Down!
Part IX: Day 181: Survival Mode while Shut In
Part X: Day 227:
Land, Ho!
Part XI: Day 267: Testing the Waters
Part XII: Day 281:
Giving Thanks for Signs of Hope
Part
XIII: Day
319: A Birthday with a View
Rainbow Photo by Austin Schmid on Unsplash
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