Faith & Patience
FAITH AND PATIENCE: THE STORY OF NOAH
Faith and Patience are two words that come up frequently across the Bible but what do they mean? And more importantly what do they mean for our relationship with God? The story of Noah provides us an insight into these two questions.
READ GENESIS 6:5-13
In verses 5-8 we read that “the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (ESV) yet in v. 8 it says that “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord”.
This begs the question why? Why had Noah found favor in the Lord when all the Earth was described as wicked an evil in every way?
Our answer comes in verse 9 where Noah is described as “A righteous man, the only blameless person living on the earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God” (NLT)
What qualified Noah to be chosen by the Lord was that he was righteous, blameless, and walked with the Lord. This did not mean that Noah was perfect, but that he lived according to God’s standards (righteous), set apart in comparison to the others on the earth (blameless) and had a relationship with God (fellowship/walked with the Lord).
Are these descriptions of Noah things that we could attain in our relationship with the Lord?
The story continues in v.14-21 where the Lord outlines all that he is asking Noah to do, along with the promise of establishing a covenant with Noah and his family (a really big promise essentially) that he will keep them safe.
In v.22 we see evidence of Noah’s faithfulness: “So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him” (v. 22, NLT)
What is faithfulness?
Below is a couple of different translations of Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (NIV)
“Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see” (NLT)
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (ESV)
“Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen”(CSB)
In all of these translations we see the same sort of definition shine through: It’s a mix of being confident in the seen promises of God that we hope in, and the divinely given hope in the unseen.
READ GENESIS 7:11-16, 8:1-19
In this passage we see God remembering his promise to Noah and staying faithful to his covenant, and making the waters subside. Eventually, Noah and his family are able to walk again on dry ground.
Did you notice how long Noah and his family were on the ark?
If you didn’t catch it, read 7:11 and 8:14 again. Noah and is family were on the ark for 378 DAYS.
At no point in this story do we see the Lord telling Noah exactly how long he would be on the ark, just that if Noah did what the Lord asked him to do, the Lord would keep him and his family safe.
If you’ve read this story before, how does this make you think about this story a little bit differently? If you haven’t read it, what is your reaction to reading this?
Noah trusted the Lord, was faithful to do as he commanded, and hoped in the unseen promise of God: he would keep he and his family safe from the Flood. Not only that, he was patient to wait on the Lord for over an ENTIRE YEAR.
Application:
How does Noah’s story relate to where you are at right now?
How can you learn from Noah and have faith in the Lord that he will bring us through this dark time, and patience to wait for him in his perfect timing?
What might God be asking you to be faithful and patient in right now?
Take some time to ask God to show it to you, and for discernment to understand what he is saying. Have a journal or notebook to write down what you think he might be telling you, and then continue to pray for whatever he tells you.
End with a few minutes in prayer to thank God for the ways he has provided for you in the past when you were faithful to him and patient to let him use you to glorify his name.
By Matthew Cook
MSU Class of 2021