Saturday, January 4, 2014
Genesis 7:24; 8:1, 15
"The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days. But God 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…Then God said to Noah, "Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives."
I've never been in a flood like what is described in Genesis 7 & 8: the rocking back and forth of a huge box (ark) on rough waters; the uncertainty of any future stability; the waiting and wondering about when the rains will stop and solid ground reappear. However, I've gone through times of uncertainty, frustration because of the uncertainty, and intense waiting and wondering. When God is doing something new in our lives He will often invite us into this place of waiting and uncertainty. The only thing that we can be certain of is the promise that God makes to us. For Noah, it was the establishing of a covenant (Gen. 6:18). For the believer today it is the promise of His Presence, that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Sometimes the most difficult thing to do is simply to hold on to that promise while everything around us seems like it's falling apart. We have to understand that the promise is all that we have to stand on.
Eventually, there is an end to the waiting and wondering, an end to the uncertainty and the frustration. It's when God leads us out of the roller-coaster instability of our flood-situation and brings us back to dry ground. What do we do in the middle of flood? We wait. We trust. We stand on God's promises. "As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven, and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:10-11).
Lord, it's hard to wait on You because You often take longer than we like to wait. In our times of waiting and uncertainty, help us to trust in Your promises.
As a church family we are waiting for Heidi to be healed. I pray that we keep trusting as we wait, remaining confident that God keeps His promises.
"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace" (Numbers 6:24-26)
Kenny Sullivan
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