Noah Teaches Us About Waiting on God

Genesis 8:1

But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.

Genesis 8:1 might seem to suggest that God had let His promises to Moses slip His mind for some period of time before He fulfilled them.  That interpretation would be inconsistent with who God is.  God had not forgotten Noah for He does not and cannot forget His promises to His children.

But it is quite possible that Noah, a man of extraordinary faith, may have been wondering if God had forgotten about him and his family.  Surely Noah had a few anxious thoughts when he and his family spent year upon year working on the ark with no sign of rain except the ridicule that was raining down upon them.  Surely Noah was getting a bit on edge after spending seven months on the waters before the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.   Can you imagine the anxiety waiting another three months before any other mountain tops appeared above the water?  Surely Noah was beyond frustration when the doves he sent out returned to the ark without having found a landing place.  But God in His faithfulness remembered Noah and the promises that He had made to Noah.  On the twenty-seventh day of the fourteenth month, God told Noah that he and his family could now go out from the ark.  Noah finally took his family and all the animals out to the earth that was perfectly prepared for them.

It seems reasonable to assume that Noah and his family surely wanted off the boat before it was time.  But God was not going to let them leave the boat until the earth around them was properly prepared.  As we go through life, our expectations often lead us to question whether God has remembered us.  We are simply placing our desires ahead of God's perfect plan for our lives.  The God of Faithfulness never forgets us or His promises to us.  We must have faith in His perfect timing. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your faithfulness to Your promises.  We rejoice in knowing that You will not let a single promise return void.  We pray that You will give us the grace we need to build our faith when we are waiting on Your perfect timing for our lives.  May we never doubt You.  We ask all these things in the One who is faithful and true, Jesus Christ.