How would you have responded to God if He had asked you to build an ark?
How would you respond to God now if He asks you to do a seemingly impossible task that had never been done before and the reason for the task is completely beyond your comprehension? What would you do if God asks you to do something that seems impossible to complete and is a task that many of your neighbors will mock you for attempting to carry out?
Noah (Genesis 6 and Hebrews 11) was willing to build an ark.
God was about to destroy the earth because it was corrupt in His sight and was filled with violence. God asked Noah, a righteous man, to build a large boat.
So God said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth!
“Build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior. (Genesis 6:13-14 NLT)
God gave Noah specific instructions.
Make the boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. Leave an 18-inch opening below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on the side, and build three decks inside the boat—lower, middle, and upper. (Genesis 6:15-16 NLT)
God told Noah whose lives would be spared.
“Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die. But I will confirm my covenant with you. So enter the boat—you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring a pair of every kind of animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood. Pairs of every kind of bird, and every kind of animal, and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground, will come to you to be kept alive. And be sure to take on board enough food for your family and for all the animals.” (Genesis 6:17-21 NLT)
Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded.
So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him. (Genesis 6:22 NLT)
Noah was willing to take on a seemingly impossible task that had never been done before. The reason for building this large boat would have been beyond his comprehension. His neighbors would certainly mock him for undertaking this decades long task.
It was by faith that Noah built this large boat.
It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. (Hebrews 11:7 NLT)
Where does faith come from?
We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. (Hebrews 12:2 NLT)
So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. (Romans 10:17 NLT)
For we live by believing and not by seeing. (2 Corinthians 5:7 NLT)
If you want to be a person of faith:
- Keep your eyes on Jesus.
- Spend time reading the Word of God (the Bible).
- Believe that God does everything that He says He will do.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT)
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