FAITH WHEN YOU DON’T SEE THE OUTCOME
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith.
Hebrews 11:7 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
Imagine for a moment the scene when God comes to Noah. God tells Noah the entire earth has rebelled against God’s plan and only Noah has found favor with God. Then God tells Noah He is going to flood the earth to cleanse away the sin of man. God tells Noah to build a giant boat and gather animals so that he can save his family and the animals from the flood.
There were several problems with this presentation to Noah. First, Noah had no reference point to understand rain or flooding. Prior to this moment on earth it had never rained, much less flooded. The earth was watered from the ground up, not from the sky down.
Second, how was Noah going to gather the animals and care for them?
Thirdly, Noah lived hundreds of miles from the ocean. How would a giant boat find enough water to float in?
Despite these obvious problems Noah chose to trust God. He chose to demonstrate his trust by obeying God and starting the process of building a boat. Noah did what he could do and then God did what Noah couldn’t do. God gathered the animals and brought the rain.
Noah worked on the boat for over 50 years—some scholars believe it was closer to 75 years. All those years he kept trusting God with no indication what God said would happen was going to happen. There was no rain during the entire construction process. The rain came after the boat was finished and Noah was inside the boat.
Sometimes faith means we trust God without the ability to figure out how it is all going to happen. Our human brains are limited. God is not.
PRAYER
Holy Spirit help me to have the faith of Noah. Help me to get Your clear direction without knowing the outcome and obey you fully. I want to be a person of faith.
“Scroll down to share what you feel God is saying based on today’s reading.”
I want the kind of faith that obeys when I don’t fully understand.
Lord , I trust you .