“We live by faith and not by
sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7). “Now
faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This
is what the ancients were commended for.” (Hebrews
11:1). I wonder if we could consider Mrs. Noah to be one of the “ancients
commended”. “By faith Noah, when warned
about things not yet seen, in holy fear build an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became
heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” (Hebrews 11:7). This ark, built by faith, took one hundred and
twenty years to build.
The Lord expects us to live by
faith. Hebrews chapter 11 expresses the
faith we are to have regarding the foundations of the earth, our sacrificial
offerings, our belief in the existence of Jesus Christ which pleases God, our
daily provisions, mission trips, our spiritual heritage left behind, our trust
in God to protect and our faith believing the biblical accounts are true. Many things we can not see, many things we
can not touch, but we know through our spirit, these things are true.
Noah was a preacher of
righteousness according to 2 Peter 2:5
and Ezekiel proclaimed when God declared to send a famine, only these three
men, Noah, Daniel and Job if alive, could save themselves by their righteousness
(Ezekiel 14:14). Noah preached righteousness during a time
when, “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and
that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.
The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth and his heart filled
with pain. So the Lord said, ‘I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the
face of the earth – men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground,
and birds of the air – for I am grieved that I have made them.’” (Genesis 6:5-7). But, there was one man
the Lord found favor with; Noah.
Noah was considered blameless among
the people of his time and he walked with God.
The bible declares the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of brutality,
for the Lord told Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth
is filled with violence because of them.
I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.” (Genesis 6:11-13). This blameless, righteous
man who walked with the Lord also had a family.
The bible does not say Noah’s family was righteous, for we see the
character of Ham when mocking his father while drunk; curses where set upon him
and his son Canaan. The bible is silent about
Noah’s wife, but I am sure she had to have some sort of faith to be married to
Noah.
Noah and his family spent years in
ridicule, subject to jokes, lewd comments, harassment and mockery. This culture in which Noah lived was so heart
harded, so spiritual depraved, degraded with evil for when a miraculous procession
of God’s animals walk in to the ark, not one soul was saved. Let us ponder this for a moment if you
will. How could anyone witness such an
astonishing, extraordinary, inexplicable phenomenon as this convoy of mild animals,
two by two, proceeds into the ark and not be totally transformed? The same way
God calls ALL of his children, but some sadly turn a deaf ear to his
beckons. My heart grieves to think God
is lament and mourning those lost.
Noah’s wife and family watched as their
patriarch preached God’s commands, observed and listened as Noah pleaded with
those to believe in The Maker of Heaven and Earth. The violent, lustful, corrupt individuals, I
am sure, were having a time making fun of this family. Maybe the laughs continued for all those
years building, maybe the laughs grew tiresome after a few years, seeing Noah would
not waiver in his faith and maybe the harassment stopped once all realized,
this family is different.
I am sure Mrs. Noah had blistered hands, a
habitual sore back, aching muscles and weary spirit. I am sure at times she may have felt
exhausted, spiritual worn down or maybe even days where hands were thrown in
the air, “I am tired of this.” What year
could it have been when doubt creeps in saying, “Is this going to happen?” “What are we doing?” Is it year fifty, sixty? The faith Noah had
must have kept her going through difficult times. Besides preparing food, managing the
children, loving her husband and cleaning her residence, Mrs. Noah had the
challenging job of believing, walking by faith and not by sight.
We all know the end of the story, but do you
know the end of yours? Has God planted a
seed or vision for you, no one can see it, people have not been as encouraging
as you may have wished and you wonder if this seed will ever flourish? I had the seed, the vision, the faith and the
testing in which all God’s children experience.
The Lord’s season of planting is not the same for all vegetation. There are some trees, fruits, veggies and
plants that spring forth quickly. There is a feeling of such accomplishment
when you see the fruits of your labor.
But what happens when the seed planted takes time to grow, thrive and
develop? Do you continue watering it? Do
you continue nourishing it and pulling the thorns, weeds and thistles that
choke the life out of it? Can you picture the end result, even if the end is
not for another decade?
That seed God has planted in you is
precious. A vision for your life where
you need to remain faithful through testing and trials is part of God’s plan
for you. In the book of James, he
considers it pure joy whenever faced with trials, because the testing of your
faith develops perseverance. This perseverance
must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking
anything (James 1:2-4). I love that scripture declaring “perseverance
must finish its work”. The vision you may have received is set for a specific
time, but you have to be prepared and ready for the challenge. Your motives need to be pure, your heart has
to glorify God in all things, your delicate sensibilities may need to be
refined for the harsh treatment of our culture to Christians and your knowledge
of God’s Word has to deepen.
The bible does not say Noah was discouraged
for he knew God and walked with him. I
pray as a wife, if your husband has a vision and walks with the Lord, then you
encourage and stand beside him. I think it is fair to say we all know what to
stand next to and what to rebuke. For
example, Tommy has been given dreams of helping the homeless, building a church
up north, and providing for people who are in the storms of life. We are able to help few now and be a
blessing, but these dreams are powerful with many people. These are not normal dreams for him, nor is
it something we discuss regarding moving north, but we leave it all in God’s
hands. If it is from the Lord, then his
will be done!
If and when the time comes for us to be moved
by the hand of God, I pray the Lord instruct, guide and lead our family to whom
or whenever that is. I desire to live by
faith and not by sight. Noah walked with
the Lord; he did not stand with the sinners or sit with the mockers or walk
with the wicked. He desired the law of
the Lord and meditated on him day and night.
Noah and his family were planted by streams of living water, bearing
their fruit in due season and their leave never withered (Psalm 1).
I am not sure how I would have responded
to Noah if I was his wife. If Tommy had
told me we where going to build and ark, I probably would have said, “A what?”
That is what I love about the Lord, he can imagine things we can not; the
Lord’s creativity has no bounds, and his vision for you life is unique, special
and just for you. My sister, I pray your faith abound every passing day, never
wasting a moment doubting, complaining or growing complacent. Read and meditate on James 1, praying for God
to enlarge your faith as these families of old, enhance your wisdom and
knowledge of his Word and increase your willingness to follow him.
Let us pray and
CONFESS the Word of the Living God:
Adonai,
I know
faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1). I know you have planted a seed in my
heart. I understand it takes time to
grow which increases my faith. I pray as
I sit in your waiting room, in the wilderness, my faith abounds each passing
day. My heart overflows with joy
believing I could be used for you, be your hands and feet and spread the Gospel
of Jesus of Nazareth.
May I be an
encouraging wife if my husband has been given a vision for our family. May be grow and study, listen and glean,
humbling ourselves before you and in due time you will lift us up and honor our
family (James 4:10). As we build our
own ark, I believe you are the cornerstone, the rock, the foundation on which
we are laying our hopes and dreams. You
are the foundations in which no storm, test or trial will dissipate our desires
(Matthew 7:24-26). As we hammer
every nail, secure each board, may we mediate on your Word and be preachers of
righteousness.
I pray our
hearts never are so hardened, we can not hear your voice. As we live in this word, as it becomes colder
and lukewarm, and as we continue building our foundation of faith, may be
succumb to the ever changing philosophies of the world, may we never reject the
truth for a lie and may we continue to train our children in the way they
should go and they will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). I pray we bold come to the throne of grace,
boasting only in the name of Jesus Christ, unashamed of the Gospel and running
our race.
I pray we
continue to water this dream, this vision, our hope, this abounding faith with
your Word. May we never cease to study
and meditate on your wonders. I believe
in your perfect will and timing is when we will move forward. How ever long that is Lord, I am in this for
the long haul. I will not give up when I
do not get my own way, I will never demand my own timing and I will submit
before you, you will be done and not mine.
I pray for
godly friends to encourage and support one another. Another family to pray and stand in the gap
with us, believing all things are possible for those who trust in the
Lord. Thank you for giving me a
dream. Thank you for encouraging me in
my faith, not allowing me to forget just how big my God is! In the name of Jesus of Nazareth I pray.
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