This post is part of a series based on the book ‘For Such A Time As This‘ by Angie Smith
Eight years ago, I spent my summer in the French Alps, in a castle (no lie), learning to speak French better as part of my education to become a French teacher.
My school was used widely by missionaries in their language preparation phase – usually studying French before heading to a former French colony in Africa where they would then learn additional languages.
In one of my classes, I met a woman named Rachel. Her husband was going to be the doctor for their team. One day for our conversation starting question, the teacher asked why everyone had decided to learn to speak French. I’ll never forget Rachel’s answer.
“On our very first date, he told me that he was going to be a missionary in Africa and that his plan was to go to France to learn French and he asked if I was willing to do that because he wasn’t going to date anyone who couldn’t see themselves doing that with him. And to be honest, I never wanted to live more than an hour from my parents. I thought maybe we could go to Canada, realize it was too hard, and then come back home. But here we are. And it’s amazing to watch how faithful he is to this. And me, I’m still learning.”
In Genesis, Noah is given an incredible God-sized vision. He was told to build a massive floating animal sanctuary to save himself, his family, and the animals from the total destruction that the rest of the world would face.
This was no small thing. Not only did it take decades to gather the supplies, build and water proof the boat, the idea of building a boat in the middle of the desert was down right crazy talk.
Rain was an unknown weather pattern and so a “flood” was literally unimaginable.
Can you imagine being Mrs. Noah? Can you imagine listening to people as the questioned the sanity of your husband day in and day out for decades? Can you imagine planning and hoping and dreaming with your husband one-on-one only to have no one understand why you do what you do and what it’s going to look like?
Sometimes we spend years and years being obedient to something God has asked us to do. And sometimes it can feel like building a boat in the middle of the desert. When is the rain going to start, God? You asked us to be faithful to this plan. And we’re doing it. We’re not perfect, but we keep putting one foot in front of another.
It can feel like days, weeks, months, or even years of drought waiting for what God has for us next.
They did everything God asked from them, even though a single drop of rain hadn’t yet fallen on their obedience. (For Such A Time As This, p 12)
That means they even got into the boat and closed the door. Noah, his wife, and his sons and their wives, climbed aboard the USS Ark and sealed the door and still waited. Waited for what God promised He would do.
What we learn from Mrs. Noah (and Noah too) is humility – admitting that we aren’t the boss and telling God that we want to do what He says is best and trusting that God knows us better than we know ourselves.
We also learn about righteousness – that even though we aren’t perfect, we should always strive to put God first and follow what He has for us to do.
In the closing prayer, we pray not only for our children to do what is right in God’s eyes, but that we would model humility and righteousness for them.
That’s my prayer – that even when I feel like I’m standing in the middle of a desert waiting for rain, that in those moments my kids would be led to a solid faith in God’s truth.
What do you all think about Mrs. Noah? What did you learn from her? I’d love to hear what you thought in the comments!
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