Waiting Out The Storm
Today’s scripture selection: Genesis 4-7
Key verse: Genesis 6:8, 22
The Bible is filled with stories – stories of failure and victory; terrible sin and amazing redemption; death and life. On almost every page we meet characters of all type and persuasion, some beautiful, some not. But read those stories enough and I believe you will start to see something. You’ll start to see yourself. Reflected in the tales of human misery and divine compassion – you may see your own failings and, hopefully, your own victories of faith.
One of the stories that has touched the hearts and minds of people through the ages is that of Noah and his family. You know, the one about animals going “two by two” into a mobile stable. Even people who claim to be atheists or no particular religious affiliation know this story. Why?
I think one reason is that it speaks about courageous faith in the face of ultimate destruction. I think it causes us to take comfort in the idea that even should the world itself slip away under our feet, if we only wait out the storm, a rainbow and a new day is ahead. Now for many that may be the end of it. Just a nice, colorful story with a platitude attached: “Hang in there, better days are coming,” end of story.
But for people of faith – faith in the God that created the heavens and the earth – it’s only the beginning of the story. It’s a powerful reminder that real life, in all its fullness, is a lot more than just “hang in there.” It’s about daily walking with the Creator and Sustainer of EVERYTHING. Think about it. There isn’t one thing, one situation, one challenge, one concern that isn’t outside of His control. Noah didn’t have all the answers. But he knew who did. And so, in a great example of scripture understatement, the Bible says it all:
“And Noah did everything just as the Lord commanded him.”
There are some things you may find hard to swallow in the Bible; stories about people living to be 600 years old and so on. Or, maybe not, maybe you can take it all on faith and leave it at that. Personally, I hope that’s the case. But most of all, count on this. God’s in charge. And that means when the storms come – and they will – we can do a lot more than just hang on and wait it out. We can rest easily while our own personal arks just keep floating on and on. And, while we’re waiting for the rainbow to show itself – there’s only one thing we need to do. Trust and do everything just as the Lord commands us.
Prayer: Eternal God, on days of ease and days of struggle, I will try to remember that it is your day, formed by your graceful and loving hand. May I take comfort and courage in that, day in and day out. AMEN.
