Old Stories - Noah

I started a new 365-day Bible reading plan at the first of the year. As you would expect, it starts at the beginning and ends at the end of the Bible. So, there I was starting in Genesis reading the old Bible stories that I have heard since I was knee high to a grasshopper. I have heard or read these stories so many times that I was wondering if I could really learn anything new. It did not take long for God to reach down and cuff me one with a resounding, "Yes!"

I was reading the story of Noah and the ark and how God had told Noah that He was going to destroy all living things on the face of the earth. God gave Noah instructions on how to build the ark and how many of each type of animal was to be brought on the ark. Then tucked in the story was this short verse:

“And Noah did all as God had commanded.”

It would take Noah 120 years to build the ark, but he did everything just as God had commanded. That is a long-term commitment to God’s plan. I know that I have a hard time doing what God commands for just a day or two. I have only been at this cancer-fighting thing for six months, and there are days that I get frustrated with the pace things are moving. Those are the days that I have to remind myself that God has a plan, and I have to stick with it.

Once the waters began to recede, Noah began sending out birds to see if the land was dry. Finally, a dove returned with an olive branch and gave Noah the assurance that the land was dry. However, Noah did not leave the ark. He waited for God to tell him it was time to leave the ark. I am pretty sure that after spending 120 years building, living with all of those animals, and enduring rain for forty days and nights, I couldn't have waited to get out of there. That is another failing of mine: I do not enjoy waiting but, slowly, God is teaching me.

These past few weeks there has been a consistent theme running through my life. From Noah to messages I have heard on television and radio, all of them have been about God’s will in your life and waiting. Sometimes it feels like God is only working when I see things happening, but I am beginning to learn that God is in the waiting, too.