One of the most intriguing & obscure Scriptures is found in Genesis 7 as the story of Noah is told. In short, God gave Noah an incredibly odd directive: build an enormous boat in the middle of the desert, because he was about to send a flood to cover the earth. God trusted that Noah would obey, even if it didn’t make sense.
The story continues on and we find Noah completing this task in the face of sure ridicule and long days of incredibly difficult work. He loads his family on the boat, two animals of every kind and them the rains came immediately rushing down from the heavens.
This is an incredible act of obedience, but there’s only one problem with my re-telling of the story: the rains did not immediately come rushing down from the sky.
Genesis 7:10 – After seven days, the waters of the flood came and covered the earth.
After SEVEN days! Those three words paint an incredible picture of faithfulness. After listening to the directive of God to build an enormous boat in the middle of the desert. After long days of back breaking work. After looking like a fool to follow God’s command. And this was Noah’s reward? Seven days of waiting.
I believe that there is a dream inside your heart. Even as you read this, it probably comes to mind. It may be extremely detailed or as vague as “I want God to use me to change the world.” If you are in a season that your God-given dreams have yet to come to pass, I have a word of encouragement for you today: don’t get off the boat.
God used Noah to save the human race as we know it. His faithfulness and obedience led to life and restoration of our world. But he had to listen carefully, work hard and stay faithful in the waiting for it to come to pass.
Listen carefully to God. Work hard. And wait patiently for God to honor his promises.
Don’t get off the boat.
