Patience

Genesis 8:13-22
Main Verse: Genesis 8:13
by Brian Phillips

Reflection
There are some incredible numbers in the account of Noah and the Great Flood! Just imagine building a boat, 450 feet long and 45 feet high (that\’s almost twice as long as a Boeing 747, and nearly as high), big enough to hold 569 railroad box cars. A passenger list that included, by some estimates, over 75,000 animals and 8 humans. Rain that lasted 40 days and 40 nights, non-stop. And a voyage at sea that lasted almost a year without a single sighting of land.

Talk about Biblical proportions!

But, this is the most incredible part of the story: After a couple of attempts to see if the waters had receded, Noah finally throws back the cover of the Ark and discovers that \”the face of the ground was dry\” (KJV translation). So, what does he do? Does he start jumping up and down, yelling for everyone to open the great door of the Ark and let all the animals out? No. He simply considers the situation, listens for God\’s command to exit, and when he doesn\’t hear it, he waits another 2 months to get off the boat!

Now that\’s patience!

Two months later, when God makes Himself known saying, \”Everybody OUT! It\’s time to celebrate!!\”, Noah expresses his love and appreciation for Him by making a sacrifice to God, in his very first act on dry land.

Food for Thought
When I was younger, I used to love building model rockets. You know the kind . . . made out of balsa wood and plastic, with a small explosive for an engine that you ignite with a battery, which sends your masterpiece sailing through the sky and it comes floating back to Earth via a parachute?

Well, that\’s the way it\’s supposed to work. Unless you lack patience like I did the first time I built one.

When I built my first rocket, I couldn\’t wait to try it out. Literally. As soon as I finished it, I waited as long as I could (which was probably only about 5 minutes), raced it out the door and put it on the launch pad. You can probably guess what happened. Since the glue hadn\’t dried, it disintegrated into pieces, and what was left came crashing down because I didn\’t take time to pack the parachute properly.

So What Now?
When you pray for direction, are you willing to wait on God before you move forward? Don\’t be impatient, or you might find your life falling to pieces.

Prayer
Dear Lord, help me wait to hear your voice. It may seem like unbearable silence for a long period of time, but I know Your timing is always better than mine. Please give me patience.