Read Genesis 8:1-20; 2 Peter 3; Psalm 37
Our God’s faithfulness has never been and will never be broken. As Noah sat on that cold and dark boat for over a year, I am sure that there were days where God’s faithfulness was hard to see and/or understand. But God’s grace enables us to trust Him. It would be easy to read a story like this and just say, “Be like Noah.” But this is a flawed goal. We cannot be like Noah if we do not have God’s grace. This is what we should focus on! God’s grace enables his children to wait faithfully, while enduring to the end. Real “Christian waiting” is not idle! It is not lazy! It is active and faithful. We have seen it radically in Noah’s life and we must understand that if we have God’s grace, our faithful waiting will be just a radical. It will undoubtedly result in persecution and sacrifice, but our God is worthy. He is most important and completely worthy of trust. He makes covenants and keeps them. For those who sit in dark and death, He guides their feet to a way of peace. He encourages and loves in ways that are beyond our understanding. All other gods are not worthy of trust. They have all broken their promises and forsaken their people. As we wait on the return of Christ, let us be as diligent as God commands us. Let us be active, moving forward, loving whole-heartedly, willing to make any sacrifice we are called to, knowing that all along our God is not distant or disinterested. HE IS ACTIVE! He plays the most key role in our lives. As we grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus, delighting in the Lord, committing our way to Him, trusting Him, being still before Him, and waiting patiently for Him, HE is giving us new desires, and bringing forth our righteousness and our justice who is CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD! And we have promises, just like Noah, that even on our worst days when we think we may very well die in the midst of this waiting, HE will deliver us into our eternal, heavenly dwelling, where we will experience God in ways that are now unfathomably sweet.
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Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Isa 40:28-31
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Waiting on God is such a crucial skill to learn. It's a learned ability, not something that comes natural for us, especially in today's world of instant messaging, instant oatmeal, bullet trains, high speed internet, and fast food. Waiting for my breakfast this morning meant standing in front of the microwave for 2 1/2 minutes. Noah had to wait for over a year to get off a stinking boat. Abraham had to wait for decades for God to fulfill the promise of a son. Several generations went by before God's promise of a land for his people was fulfilled.
In this day, we don't have the patience to wait on God. We don't just have problems, we have "emergencies"! We fire off a prayer in the morning, and if we don't get an answer back by noon, we declare either the line to be dead (what's my pin number?), we're praying for the wrong thing, or maybe God just doesn't care. We have instant messaging with our friends, why not with God?
There is strength in waiting - because it teaches us to depend on God to sustain us through the long haul. Often this lesson is learned after we collapse at his feet exhausted from the effort of trying to do it all ourselves.
There is peace in being still - because it teaches us to rest in God's sovereignty and faithfulness. Listen to his voice and do it his way the first time. This takes practice, practice, practice. Oh, and you have to be quiet.
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