Yesterday I listed some of the things I saw about faith in Hebrews 11. I want to focus on Noah for a moment. Hebrews 11:7 tells of his faith experience. In detail:
Think about that for a second. There has never been a flood, frankly there may not have been rain. Genesis 2:5 tells us that a mist rose from the ground to water the plants. The next time rain is mentioned in the Bible it is associated with the flood. So there is a possibility that Noah had no inkling about what God was doing. No one in Noah’s community would have any idea what was going on.
Yet look how Noah reacts. The language in the text is stunning. The writer of Hebrews tells us that “in reverence” Noah prepared an ark. Noah looked at the building of this unknown vessel for an event that had never happened in history as worship.
That challenges me.
Have you ever sensed God leading you to do something different? Something really against the grain? Something that no one else would understand? How did you respond?
Noah obeyed. He prepared what seemed to be an incredibly weird project for what God had told him to do. It took many years. Yet when the time came Noah was prepared.
This challenges me to do all that God has laid out for me in reverence. Waiting for His timing. Not worrying about whether the project makes sense. Just doing what He says I am to do.
How about you?
- He was told that something was going to happen that had never happened before, a flood.
- He was told to build something that had never been built before and for which up to this point there was no need.
Yet look how Noah reacts. The language in the text is stunning. The writer of Hebrews tells us that “in reverence” Noah prepared an ark. Noah looked at the building of this unknown vessel for an event that had never happened in history as worship.
That challenges me.
Have you ever sensed God leading you to do something different? Something really against the grain? Something that no one else would understand? How did you respond?
Noah obeyed. He prepared what seemed to be an incredibly weird project for what God had told him to do. It took many years. Yet when the time came Noah was prepared.
This challenges me to do all that God has laid out for me in reverence. Waiting for His timing. Not worrying about whether the project makes sense. Just doing what He says I am to do.
How about you?
The most difficult things God "asked" me to do didn't come with a choice; they were determined. There was no decision.
ReplyDeleteIn one way, that makes it easy; James makes the response to that clear. He is the Sovereign Architect and Builder of my life, designed by Him to teach me dependence on Him and experience His goodness, His love, His divine qualities....
I seems to me this decision faced by Noah it a challenge well above any of that - a graduate course of sorts above the ordinary lessons of faith we all face.
Apparently I'm not ready for graduate school yet....