NOAH ABIDES IN FAITH WITH HIS EVER-FAITHFUL GOD
_______________________________________________________
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. – Genesis 6:9 –
One of the great heroes of faith in the Bible is Noah. In his day, evil had so pervaded all mankind that there was little hope in the world. Yet Noah maintained hope in his invincible God. He found favor in His eyes. His faith to carry on was founded upon a deep love for his ever-faithful Lord.
I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens. – Genesis 6:17
The earth had become corrupt. The depravity of its people caused them to think only evil in their hearts. God found it necessary to judge the earth and its inhabitants because of rampant sin and wickedness. Yet He would deliver any who trusted in Him.
Noah is called by the Lord to a monumental task… to build an ark… a seaworthy vessel that would save and protect all who came aboard. Over the course of nearly 120 years, Noah perseveres in building the ark according to God’s exact specifications. His faith empowers him to carry on with this daunting mission.
At God’s appointed time, Noah and his family enter the ark. The Lord brings to the ark one pair of every living creature and seven pairs of each clean animal to be saved from destruction. Then God closes the door of the ark to safeguard them all. Forty days and forty nights of rain flood the entire earth. Every living thing outside of the ark is destroyed.
But God remembered Noah and all… that were with him in the ark. and He sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. – Genesis 8:1
After nearly a year, the Lord beckons Noah, his family and all the animals to come out of the ark. He commands that they be fruitful and multiply to repopulate the earth. Noah builds an altar and worships his merciful God who has been their salvation.
I establish My covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood. – Genesis 9:11
A new beginning dawns for all the earth. The Lord makes a covenant, a promise, with Noah and all living creatures that never again will He send a flood to destroy the earth. To seal this everlasting covenant, God sets a rainbow in the sky as a sign that He will forever be faithful to His pledge.
Lessons from the Life of Noah
Noah finds the faith to carry on when faced with…
♦ A formidable calling on his life – In all the world, God chooses Noah…and Noah obeys the call of God. The Almighty One is with him every step of the way. In His great mercy, He preserves a remnant of His people through Noah and his family.
♦ Opposition from the enemy – Noah is the chosen seed… the faithful one through whom God would one day bring His Son into the world… the Messiah, the hope of all mankind. The enemy wants nothing more than to destroy this holy lineage. Yet God protects Noah and his ancestral line.
♦ Condemnation from the world – Noah is anointed by God for a heroic calling. He carries on with confidence and faith in his unseen God. Although he likely experiences ridicule and derision from the faithless people surrounding him, he endeavors to open their eyes to the upcoming destruction. For unless they turn to God, they have no hope to be saved.
♦ Doubts from within – Noah surely wrestles with his own doubts and questions during the many years spent working on the ark. He waits for God’s sovereign plan to unfold. His absolute trust in the Lord and His promises solidifies his faith. Noah singularly carries on with his building project while leaving all else to God.
♦ Fear of the future – Noah understands what the future holds. He knows that all he has ever known will be destroyed. Only he and his loved ones will be saved… God’s promised remnant. This man of faith places all hope for his salvation and his future in the hands of his almighty God.
We can find the faith to carry on in Christ when faced with…
♦ The challenging calling to follow Jesus – The way of Christ is never promised to be the easy way. Yet we are privileged to have the presence of His Spirit within us. We are anointed and set apart as His own. As we abide in Him, we are promised His enduring protection.
♦ Opposition from the enemy – As believers, we have a target on our backs. We are the chosen ones… the ones who belong to Christ. The enemy desires to turn us away from following Jesus. Yet through our victorious Savior, we can resist the enemy and he will flee.
♦ Condemnation from the world – The unbelieving world needs the hope that only Christ can bring. Jesus told us that the world would hate us because we are His. We persevere in our task to open the eyes of the lost to the only One who can save them from destruction.
♦ Doubts from within – On our spiritual walk, we will encounter doubts… doubts that unsettle us… doubts that shake our faith. Yet we know the One who is ever faithful. Only by trusting in Christ and His promises will our doubts subside. We carry on in the work He has given us, leaving the rest up to Him.
♦ Fear of the future – Only by yielding all to Jesus will we conquer our fears and find the faith to carry on. We know what the future holds… the fate of believers and unbelievers. Yet we are assured that through Christ we are secure… now and forever. Our faith empowers us to be confident of what we hope for and convinced of what we do not see.
† Eternal Takeaway – Faith in our ever-faithful Savior equips us to face our challenges †
