Waiting is my kryptonite!
I am very vulnerable to impulsivity, recklessness, and discouragement when I do not have an obvious expiration date for my periods of waiting.
Yes. I have prayed daily about it, but we all know what happens when you pray for patience!
The way that God graciously grows the fruit of patience, peace, and self-control in my heart is by continuously placing me in situations where the seeds can sprout and grow.
I have been very encouraged and strengthened by Noah’s patience and obedience.
Noah spent 120 years in obedience to God building an ark for a storm. He had never seen rain. He had never experienced a storm or a flood. Noah had no idea what was to come. Yet, in his obedience, he patiently persisted.
As I consider Noah’s patience to carry out God’s command, it brings me to my knees. I am reminded that my humble and patient surrender to God is a form of worship. My submitted obedience says, “Lord, I trust You, even when I don’t know Your plan. Lord, I will patiently persist.”
Finally after decades of building, Noah and his family were suddenly thrust into a year-long lockdown. (Sound familiar?)
Noah was forced into a locked and enclosed ark for about 370 days with only his family and every animal that would inhabit the earth.
I can only imagine the sights, the sounds, and the smells. The days must have felt endless.
Noah endured patiently as he waited for the flood waters to recede with no word from God.
The Lord sits enthroned over the engulfing waters, the Lord sits enthroned as the eternal king. The Lord gives His people strength; the Lord grants His people security. —Psalm 29:10-11
While we are waiting, we are never waiting alone. We have God’s Word and His promises which serve as our guide and direction while we wait for Him to act. We can be secure in that.
God is no less powerful in His silence than He is in His statements.
In His silence, God was still at work on behalf of Noah, his family, and the world.
Noah may have felt like he was in a prison – restrictive, uncomfortable – but he was actually in God’s promise. The discomfort on the inside of the ark was God’s promise against the judgment imposed on the outside of the ark.
The ark was God’s provision.
God provided an opportunity for safety. All who chose to repent had the opportunity for entry into the ark. They had 120 years to repent but refused. Once on the ark, God provided space, food, and drinking water, everything each passenger needed to survive for a year.
The ark was God’s protection.
God closed the door of the ark behind them. For an entire year, they were safe from the harsh elements – the rain, the sun, the decomposing bodies of humanity and animals. God protected the only humans left on the entire earth.
The ark was God’s preservation.
God preserved life and creation for the next generation. While the world was being reformed as the waters receded, God was preparing the world outside the ark for Noah and the next generation to inhabit comfortably.
Finally, after over a year, Noah heard from God who called him out of the ark. Once Noah exited the ark, after years of patient obedience, the first thing Noah did was build an altar to worship God.
When we are in periods of uncomfortable waiting, we can follow Noah’s example.
Watch. Wait. Worship.
We patiently watch for the silent movement of God in our circumstances.
We patiently meditate on God’s Word and His promises as we wait for God’s calling.
We patiently seek all opportunities to praise and worship God in the midst of our circumstances.
Where are you being challenged to trust God patiently as you wait?
Peace and grace to you,
Week 5 Challenge:
God gave Noah a rainbow as a sign of His promise to never again destroy the whole earth by a flood. Rainbows always follow a storm. What does this tell us about God’s care and provision for us in the midst of difficult times? How do you trust His promises when you are in the middle of a storm?
Week 5 Reading Plan
Week 5 Memory Verse
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Very insightful, thank you Terria! Yes, I go to scripture when the waters rise and trouble brews. He know the trouble, He sees all. Oh to be patient through the storms! I can’t on my own. I need Him, His promises and His encouragement!