What We Can Learn From The Story Of Noah And The Ark.
Okay, but can we talk about Noah for a second?
I am following along through the S.O.A.R bible study method using their book 1 - a journey through the Bible in a year. I’m super behind as I just started the book in May and am using it as something I work through when I feel led as opposed to every day. Sometimes I follow it daily but there are also other times where a week or even a month will fly by between entries and that’s okay!
Yesterday as I read through part of the reading of Genesis 5:1-7:24 I revisited the story of Noah and the Ark.
(Take a second to read it before you continue to read!)
I was amazed at how specific the Lord was in His instructions on how to build the ark and what to prepare for the ark including what was meant to be brought and what wasn’t. It wasn’t just a simple to-do list of items to bring and a simple list of items to pick up at the nearest Home Depot. No, it was a list of materials that needed hard manual labor to gather and even harder manual labor to build.
I think a lot of times we read this story and we read through the words as if they were things that happened in an instant instead of them being things that took lots of time and energy to achieve.
So with all of that in mind, you could imagine my surprise when I read the words (written not just once, but twice) found in Genesis 6:22 and 7:5. It says (paraphrase) that Noah did ALL that was commanded of him. All of it. Not some. Not what he felt like doing but all of it in its entirety. HOW FLIPPING COOL???!
And don’t even get me started on the sheer amount of faith that was needed to be obedient to the commands and instructions of God during this time. Noah had to believe that what the Lord said would come to pass. I’m sure it was pure craziness to believe that there would be a great flood caused by continued rain for 40 days and 40 nights. But Noah was a righteous man and he believed God.
How amazing is that?
I want faith like that!
God gives us instructions and commands daily and we can trust that just like He did in the story of Noah and the Ark, he will walk alongside us in the process and will be faithful to bring about what he said he would.
When I think of this I think of the many promises, truths, and gifts He gives his children. One I’m reminded of in particular is that we are given freedom through Christ.
Here are a few places in the Bible where we see this:
Galatians 5:1 - For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
2 corinthians 3:17 - Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
1 Peter 2:16 - Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants[a] of God.
It’s one thing for God to say that we are free. It’s another for us to believe and walk in that truth. That belief is faith. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
I want to encourage you today to believe that what God has said over your life will come to pass. Whether you choose to focus on his promise/truth/gift of freedom or another promise/truth/gift found in the Bible, know that He is faithful to bring any and all things in alignment with His will to fruition.
