NOAH

Noah was a remarkable man with an even more remarkable trust in the Lord.  For 100 years he worked to build the ark in spite of the fact that it hadn't rained a drop in decades.  He experienced scorn and ridicule from friends and neighbors but his allegiance to obey God never wavered.  You and I can learn alot from this man and his unshakable faith. Here are a few things to think about.  

Character comes before calling - I've heard it said that God always answers our prayers in one of three ways, yes, no or not yet.  I certainly love it when God answers my prayers right away, usually come to grips with things when he says no, but the waiting that comes when he says not yet, that's the toughest for me.  Most of us don't like waiting for things and we don't like being patient but there is great truth in the saying that good things take time.  A pizza cooked for one minute instead of twenty is not very tasty and the same is true in relationships where friendships can't be built overnight but take time and energy on the part of everybody involved.  Noah put 100 years on time and energy into the ark and gave his entire life to it because he trusted that what God was doing and building inside him had to be completed before the Lord's calling for he and his family to survive the flood could be fulfilled.  What's God doing inside of you.  Are so so focused on the finish line or on checking things off the to do list each day that you don't appreciate the growth that is happening in your heart.  Maybe your impatiently waiting for things to happen in your life because right now they seem at a stand still.  Whatever the case may be for you,  trust that God is growing your character to prepare you for the callings he has ahead.  David Robinson said the best way to enjoy each day in life is to, "Enjoy the journey and not just the destination."


Calling proceeds clarity- Noah received a calling from the Lord to build an ark but initially that was all he knew. It wasn't until much later that he realized how important the ark would be to preserve mankind and all the animals of the earth from the flood. As I look back in my own life I am thankful that clarity usually comes after calling.  There are times when we follow God's leading out of faith alone and end up in some pretty surprising but wonderful places.  In these times, if god had told me beforehand what the end result of following him was going to be, I don't think I would have been brave enough to do it.  I like to think of the Christian life as crossing a giant river on stepping stones that's covered in dense fog.  The fog is so dense that we can only see the next stone ahead and must take things one step at a time.  Even though we can't see the bank on the other side we keep stepping and trust that the Lord is leading us to the final destination.  Take a second to look back at times that you have followed the Lord leading by faith in the past.  Has he been faithful?  I bet he has because he has been so faithful to me.  1 Thes 5:24 says that "He who calls you is faithful and He will do it."  Noah's God and our is faithful to bring clarity into out lives and show us how he's working when the time is right.  Until then we need to keep walking by faith.  

God closes doors - Genesis 6:16 that say "and the Lord shut Noah in the ark." There is no doubt that God is at work in all things and uses both the times when things pull through and fall though to lead us in the way we should go.  We like describe this by saying that God opens and closes doors and with that comes the general assumption that when God closes a door, he always opens another one.  Not with Noah.  God shut the door to the ark on Noah and his family and it was some time before the door when we opened again.  There are times in life like this when God closes a door, or maybe multiple doors and it appears we are at a dead end. When this happens we shouldn't panic but instead need to trust that God will open the door when the times is right.  Like in the case of Noah, he might be protecting us from a horrible storm or situation that we didn't see coming.  When you're waiting for doors to open, be patient, God's timing is perfect, and thank Him for his protection.   

Lots can be learned from great men of faith like Noah.  God wants us to trust him like Noah did and he wants our entire life to be an ark for him.  Arks have no sails and no motor but are completely dependent on the waves for movement and are at the mercy of the elements.  Will you depend completely on God to guide and direct the ark of your life or will you and I continue to insist on voyaging where you want to go? Like a loving father, we can trust that he won't let us down and will never let us drown, even in the fiercest of storms.  He's a poem I wrote to that end.

100 years we worked on that ark

Everyone thought I was mad

Then then the rains came just like He said they would

So we loaded up all that we had

For forty days the heavens poured 

We knew all on earth has been lost

My family and I had been spared somehow

For obeying Him despite the cost

There were nights when we wondered 

If we would make it through

But he had taken care of us before

We knew his love was tried and true

The rain stopped and the sun came out

We couldn't believe our eyes

The waters fell and the ark stood still

And his promise filled the sky

So the one who calls you, the faithful one

Trust in him and you'll see

Your cause and righteous will shine like the sun

So that to Him all glory may be

No matter what comes your way today

Even hardship of any form

He won't let you down, He will never let your drown

Even in the fiercest of storms.