The world was corrupt. All but one man. Noah walked “in close fellowship” with God. Have you ever wondered how that came to be? Was Noah an outcast because he didn’t fit in with the crowd? God sure trusted him. I’m guessing Noah didn’t care about fitting in. He knew what was right.
Imagine the conversation between God and Noah. First of all, to imagine a conversation with God in the first place is pretty awesome. Don’t we all long for a word from God, a direction for our lives. Here Noah and God had a conversation, albeit a very one-sided conversation where God did all the talking. Noah listened. Noah took notes. Noah was ready to obey. Noah did everything “exactly” as God had commanded.
What an assignment Noah had. This was not a small task. I’m sure people, including his own family, probably thought he had lost his mind. Noah’s trust in God was so strong he did an unthinkable feat, built a humongous boat, down to the centimeter of what God had asked of him. Noah didn’t care what people thought, he was obedient to God. Noah embraced what may have been overwhelming to most people. Noah walked closely with God.
You know that this project didn’t happen overnight. God was probably very much involved in the project helping Noah with getting the materials lined up, the extra manpower needed, etc. This boat was enormous! 450 feet long would be the equivalent of 1-1/2 football fields. That is massive. But you needed space to keep two of every animal. Sounds like God was going to let the beasts and birds come to find Noah when the time got closer.
I liked the last comment, almost like a “by the way” comment. That was – don’t forget the food. Of course, everyone would need to eat. What would that look like? For how long? Noah did a great job in getting ready just as God had asked him. After all of attention to dimensions, doorways, levels, etc., the food was probably the least of Noah’s worries. Perhaps he delegated that to his wife. Women tend to be good at party planning, and this was going to be one party boat to remember.
I have not had a Noah experience as yet. God has taken me out of my comfort zone on a number of occasions only to have blessed me beyond measure for doing so. What is God prompting you to do? It might be as simple as picking up the phone to call an old friend. We need to be still so we can hear the voice of God and what he’s telling us to do.
Be intentional in finding time to spend with God. Don’t worry, he promised he wouldn’t flood the world again, so we aren’t going to have to build a boat. But he does have a job for us in mind. We need to be open and listening for our assignment. The world is corrupt once again. I can only imagine how perturbed God is with us now. How will he use you and me to straighten things out?
Let’s pray. Lord, help me to close out the distractions of the world so I can fully focus on you. I want my ears to be ready to hear your words, your assignment, your confirmation. Thank you that I can be near you. May I be obedient to your will as Noah was. May I shut my mouth if doubts creep in to hold me back. I pray for others to have a revelation from you as well as we all work together to make this corrupt world a better place. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
