There is faith and there is faith.
Sometimes you’re believing for something that is unlikely.
A number of things makes said desire unlikely.
Perhaps the problem is timing, scientific facts, or statistics. As much as you want, there are things you desire that are just not probable and for you to have them, you need what is traditionally called a miracle.
When a desire clashes with the road block called impossible, you’re ripe for a miracle.
One thing about miracles? They usually have no precedent.
That was what happened with Noah.
It wasn’t so much so that God promised a flood in a world that had a history of heavy rain. It was that God promised a flood in a world that had never seen rain.
Think about it. I’m pretty sure Noah at times saw himself as delusional. He was pouring time, energy and resources into a project meant to be insurance against something that had never happened.
First of all, it’s easy to assume Noah didn’t have other responsibilities. He did
He had a family to take care of. He had regular bills to pay, and with the commissioning of this project by God, he had an extra hefty building bill.
Yes, God gave him the blueprint but there were specialized tradesmen whose expertise would be needed to complete his vision, expertise that no doubt came with a price.
Workmen budgets aside, there were building materials to source and labour to contend with. Still he went ahead. Day after day, week after week, year after year after year; He was required to build and he did. He didn’t stop. He did what no one had done before, because God told him to.
What he didn’t know was that he was involved in a miracle that would save his life and that of his family.
Maybe that’s you. Maybe you’ve been called to build something that there is no precedent for.
Maybe God’s plan isn’t something you or anyone else around you sees.
Noah is a good template to have. He was by no means perfect – as evidenced by some of his actions after the flood – but he obeyed, and that marked him out for the title righteous.
When we think of love we think of romance. We think of going the special mile. When we think of loving God we think of special emotions and special actions.
Luckily Jesus distils the facts from the feelings on what it means to love God.
Noah shows us how. Loving God means keeping his commandments. In other words obeying Him.(1)
Even when it’s ridiculous. Even when we don’t see how. Even when it’s hard.
There are the general commands in God’s word that in today’s world go against what is socially acceptable; Commands that open us up to judgement by those who have no regard for God.
Then there are specific commands like what Noah had. Commands that make us the laughing stock of town. Commands that have the world and sometimes ourselves questioning our own mental stability.
Noah didn’t give in to the ridicule. He didn’t let the questions in his own head stop him from obeying. He showed his love of God by his actions, even when those actions appeared ridiculous.
God had a plan for Noah and his obedience was what was brought him to it.
It’s a lesson that may be hard to relate to but the truth is, we’ve been called to love God through some specific acts of obedience.
Hard as it may be, God will give us the resources to build our version of Noah’s ark. In his great love, He offers what we need to show that we love Him and in a cosmic twist that very often leads to the unprecedented miracle we look for but don’t even know we need.
Keep Building.
1 – John 14:15-31