Come, Be Still: Noah

Showing posts with label Noah. Show all posts

Monday, February 27, 2023

Shut In – Day 376: The Right Time

Our last check-in with Noah on the ark (on his 601^st 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

Sunday, January 1, 2023

Shut In – Day 319: A Birthday with a View

If you have been following along since last February 17^th, you may remember how I used that date to start tracking with Noah on the Ark – all because of this verse found in the history of Genesis 7:11:

“In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month…” And thus began the global flood, signs of which are still clearly seen by scientists the world over.

Well, today’s date has special significance in this journey as well.

“By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth.” – Genesis 8:13

Now I obviously know that our calendar was not in existence at the time of the flood. Nor do I think Noah was likely a “New Year’s Baby.” But I am grateful for how specific this historical account is when laying out the timeline – even if it can only allow us to count within the days of the life of one specific man. After all, he was the ancestor of every human being on earth since then, so I’d say his life was rather important!

So, how did Noah celebrate this monumental birthday? Not with a special cake and candles.

Instead: “Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry.”

And that is all we know until nearly 2 months later!

If we had been Noah, mightn’t we have been tempted to get out of that ark? After being shut in for 319 days, the sight of dry land coming weeks after the dove brought back a fresh, green leaf seems like it's about time, right?

But Noah knew God better than that. God had shut him in, and He could wait for God to let Him out.

So how about the things that “shut us in”? Can we trust that God’s timing is perfect? That even if we could possibly “get out” from our circumstances, we would not be satisfied or safe “out there” until the time is right?

Instant relief from trouble or instant healing is not God’s plan for everyone. [See the apostle Paul’s account in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, for example.]

God is working all the while. Wait on Him.

photo from last February while we were shut out of our home more than a week, waiting for professional mold remediation to be completed

See previous posts in series here:

Thursday, November 24, 2022

Shut In – Day 281: Giving Thanks for Signs of Hope

Happy Thanksgiving Day! Today it is just the four of us at home, but we hope to enjoy some extended family time tomorrow. And we still plan to find ways to make today a celebration.

But rather than focus on the amazing history of the American Thanksgiving celebrations in this post (see past years for that), today marks another key point in much more ancient history.

I am still tracking with Noah on the ark.

The last time we checked in, he was sending out scout-birds to get an idea of the state of the flood-ravaged earth. That began two weeks ago. Since the birds did not find anywhere to live other than the ark, Noah set himself to wait another week.

Imaging his joy and thanksgiving when the dove came back with “a freshly plucked olive leaf” in her beak! There was finally a sign of life off of the ark!

We really cannot picture the impact of this one leaf after all those months of death, destruction and isolation. But try to imagine a winter stretching for 11 months with no sign of green… not even a spruce tree or hardy vine to add color to an empty prairie where sky and land are all the color of old snow. You have been kept indoors by the weather the entire 11 months. Even if you had neighbors, you would not have been able to get out to visit them. (Read Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “The Long Winter” for just a partial, but powerful, example of this.)

Then after eleven months unlike anything experienced before or since in the history of the world… you finally see an olive leaf! Praise God!!!

Now, remember that God had shut Noah and his family into the ark, and Noah was still waiting on God’s timing to exit. So we come to today…

“Then he waited another seven days and sent forth the dove, and she did not return to him anymore.” – Genesis 8:12

This was a day to celebrate! There were clear signs of life and hope in the world!

Even when we are living through dark and lonely days, God eventually sends those signs of hope. What are yours today?

A few of mine after nearly 10 years since my health completely crashed include:
- I find myself trotting up the stairs some days!
- Piano practice has become a joy again since I resumed several days a week in October.
- My mind can have more capacity for language study than for years past.
- Chemical exposures have less effect on my body and brain.

And yes, this has all changed since getting the mold out of our house. It was, and still is, so much work and expense… but so worth it for my mom, sister, and me. We are grateful to God!

See previous posts in series here:

Next post:
Part XIII: Day 319: A Birthday with a View

olive leaf photo by Chris Barbalis on Unsplash