Life lessons for us from the ark

Today we are in Genesis chapter 8 where we will witness a true test of trust, faith, and patience and how God used those things to bless Noah and his family. As we enter chapter 8, we begin with the sweetest message from Adonai. 

God remembers Noah

“God remembered Noah. He remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.”

This verse is not saying that Adonai forgot him, it simply points out that He was thinking of Him. I love the thought of Him doing that with us also. Have you ever thought about how often Jesus things of you? We have such a loving Heavenly Father. It goes on to say, once it had stopped raining, it took 10 months for the waters to recede to only see the “mountain tops.”

“After 40 more days, Noah opened a window and sent out a raven that flew back and forth until the waters dried up. Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.”

His word said that everything was destroyed. Think of how muddy the earth would be after a flood like that. Based on the numbers indicated when you read the entire story, Noah and his family were in the ark about a year and a half total before God opened the door again. Have you ever thought about why God kept them on the ark so long after the rain stopped? Did God use that time to replenish the earth with trees and grass and all we see in nature? Wonder if it was to further test Noah’s trust and patience???

Imagine the amount of, not only trust, but patience, you would need to have to survive being locked up in a boat with over 45,000 animals and your family for that long?!? Some families have a difficult time getting through the holidays together, or a vacation. Noah and his family had to endure extreme circumstances and conditions for a very long time.

What must have been going through their minds as it continued to rain and the boat continued to toss and heave over each wave.  It’s unlikely that it was smooth sailing during the rain. What faith you would need to have to survive that ordeal.

Lessons in the boat

There is no doubt, as life goes, that there were many lessons that God must have taught Noah and his family during their time in the boat. One of the lessons we will point out here is that they were on the boat a year and a half. Let’s see how this might apply to your life today.

Can you think of a situation now or in the past where you felt you were “locked into a boat” drifting with no apparent course, fifty foot waves of stress, and the uncertainty of what to do or what would come next, or when would the storm ever pass? Maybe you thought, does God hear my prayers, see my tears, or even care about what I am going through? Am I all alone? Has God forgotten me and left me to fend for myself?

Noah may have had moments of those thoughts as well, but because God’s Word says that he was righteous, it is likely that whenever He got stressed he turned to Adonai for answers, and reassurance.

Let this story encourage you that you are not alone, and to cling to Him over every wave no matter how long it takes. You can weather any storm as long as He is holding your hand and protecting you. Remember, it is your loving Heavenly Father that put you in the boat in the first place. He warned you the storm was coming. He prepared you for the storm, He put you in there for protection, and He is with you. He will bring you out of the boat once He stops the storm and the waters recede for you. Trust His timing. Trust His plan.

Trusting the Father with the details

God told Noah he was going to flood the earth and destroy everything. The story does not say that He told him the details of the duration or the after flood expectations. Adonai made a covenant with Noah that he and his family and all of the animals and creatures on board would be safe.

Think about your situation today. It could be extreme to you. You may have lost a loved one, lost a job, or you may have had to endure being a caregiver; you may find yourself in any number of extreme stressful situations for various reasons that matter to you. Wherever you are, consider doing this, if you are not doing so already: allowing your Heavenly Father to close you up tight inside His “ark” of safety for you in His everlasting arms. Ride the storm within His arms and stay there trusting Him putting your faith and hope in Him and rest there until He tells you it is safe to come back out.

Time to come out

Verse 15 begins,

“Then God said to Noah, “Come out of the ark!”

That command makes my heart want to burst. God opened the door and told Noah to come out and bring everyone with him. Then He shares the plan, “multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it.”

Noah obey and trusted Adonai. Then when the timing was right, Adonai said to come out and then shared the next part of the plan with Noah. Adonai will do the same with you.

The alter

So what is the first thing Noah did when he gets off the boat?

“Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.  The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.” Verse 20

What a happy ending to the great flood.

What is the first thing we should do when God brings us out of our “ark of protection” after our storm subsides? Worship Him. Thank Him. Praise Him. Continue to cling to Him.

Every storm that we go through together should bring us closer to Him into a deeper loving relationship. When the next storm comes we automatically turn to Him and we have no fear, only trust and courage as we brave the storm together and trust His instructions.

Just as Adonai kept Noah and everyone safe during the storm, He wants to do the same for you. Lean on Him and cling to His hand as He instructs you on how to prepare for the storms in your life. He will put you in your “ark” of safety during the storm. He will close you in and keep you there until He is ready for you to come out. When He is ready He will open the door and tell you to step out.

What peace and comfort comes over us when we experience this level of trust with Him and allow Him to take care of us.

God bless you.