Last month, we had what the news called “The Flood of 2009.” It rained in Atlanta non-stop for seven days. No kidding ~ non-stop. And on the seventh day, we had an absolute downpour. Not for a few minutes. Not for even just an hour. But for 24 hours straight, we had what I would call a deluge.
As I watched the water in the pond outside my office window get higher and higher, I thought it was a pretty cool and exciting little adventure. But as I watched the news reports of all the washed out roads and flooded houses, I have to admit that I was a little nervous.
It made me think about Noah and how he must have felt as the rain kept falling and falling. Not for just 24 hours, but for 40 days! At first I wondered if Noah got nervous when the rain kept coming down. Then I wondered if he was really pretty relieved. I mean, he had been waiting for that day for a very long time. The Bible doesn’t tell us how long it took Noah to build the Ark. But some theologians say it could have taken up to 100 years. So let’s just say for the sake of discussion that it even took half that time to build. Fifty or 100 years of building and no substantial rain!! Can you imagine how crazy it must have seemed to Noah’s friends and family when he told them what he was going to do? I’m thinking there was some serious smack talk going on at the local Elk’s club:
“Did you hear what Noah’s doing? He’s building an Ark. No, not just a boat ~ an ARK!!! It’s going to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. Oh wait, it gets better . . . he’s going to fill it with two of every kind of animal. Oh wait, wait, there’s more . . . and he says it’s going to rain for 40 days and 40 nights. Bah-Haaa! Are you serious! We live in a desert!!!!”
And I’m wondering if there was more than one conversation from Mrs. Noah that went something like this:
“Ummm. Noah. Dear. So, ummm, you’re sure about this Ark thing right? I mean, I think it’s really great that you heard from God. But are you sure you got the message right? I’m just asking because Shem got in a fight on the playground today because the other kids were calling you a weirdo. And the ladies in my pottery club have stopped whispering behind my back and are now blatantly laughing at us. Ok, as long as you’re sure. . . .”
Day after day, month after month, year after year Noah kept going. And still the rains didn’t come. Genesis 7:5 says “Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.” In other words, Noah never gave up.
About a year ago, I was prompted to read the book of Nehemiah. I love Nehemiah because he didn’t let what other people said deter him from his God given mission. God laid it on Nehemiah’s heart to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall around the city that had been destroyed during the Babylonian invasion. The wall was a charred, ruined pile of rubble. It was an impossible task. But Nehemiah did as God had asked him. And once the surrounding enemies heard of Nehemiah’s plan, they jeered at him and made fun of him. Chapter 4, verse 1 says: “When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews . . .” Verse 3 says: “Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, ‘What they are building – if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!’”
Nehemiah and his fellow Jews were repeatedly ridiculed. And the enemy tried every trick in the book to get Nehemiah to stop doing God’s work. Not only did he and his workers complete the wall, but they did it in only 52 days! Nehemiah never gave up.
At least Noah and Nehemiah were able to see the fruits of their labor. Poor Moses did all that work and didn’t even get into the Promised Land. Talk about never giving up. Before Moses’ journey even began, he was met with one closed door after another. God had Moses go to Pharaoh 12 times to ask for His people’s freedom. Twelve times!!! And each time God hardened Pharaoh’s heart and Pharaoh said no. It had to have been so frustrating and heart breaking for Moses to keep going back to Pharaoh only to have his request rejected again and again. It wasn’t until the 13th time that God changed Pharaoh’s heart and he said yes.
But Moses’ trials didn’t end there. After the Israelites were finally freed, they wandered in the desert for 40 years! And they weren’t 40 good years either. Moses was stuck with a huge group of whining, nagging, sinful people. And then to add insult to injury, after all that hard work and all that time, God told Moses that he wasn’t even going to get to live in the Promised Land. The closest Moses was going to get was to see it from the top of a distant mountain. But Moses didn’t give up. He never stopped doing what God told him to do. I’m sure there were many, many times that he wanted to throw up his hands in frustration and just say “Forget about it!” But he didn’t.
What about us? In these times of instant gratification, are we willing to do what God asks us to do even when we don’t see the fruits of our labor or when it takes a long, long time? Are we willing to trust that when God asks us to do something, He has a much bigger plan than we can even imagine? Are we willing to go the distance for God no matter what the opposition tries to put in our way, no matter how much ridicule we get from the people around us or how crazy God’s plan seems? Are we willing to keep going even when we have to wait day after day and year after year for the rain to fall? And are we willing to keep going when God’s plan seems incredibly impossible?
I hope so. Because the blessings we receive when we trust God, obey Him and walk with Him are immeasurable. Imagine the things we will miss out on if we don’t follow God’s will for us. What do we risk loosing? About a year ago, a friend gave me a sheet of paper that says “Don’t give up before the miracle.” I have it taped to my bedroom mirror so I can see it every day and remind myself to not give up. If we give up, what miracles are we going to miss?
Noah would have missed the miracle of seeing all those animals coming to him. That must have been an amazing and beautiful sight to see pairs of every kind of animal just showing up ready to go on the Ark. If Noah had given up, he would have missed the blessing of surviving a devastating flood.
Nehemiah would have missed the joy and sense of accomplishment of rebuilding the wall around God’s city. If Nehemiah had listened to all the jeering and ridicule and given up, he would have missed out on the blessing of seeing God’s people restored to their rightful place in God’s kingdom.
If Moses had listened to all the nagging and whining and given up, he would have missed the parting of the Red Sea, burning bushes, bread raining down from Heaven and being led by a cloud during the day and fire by night. WOW! What amazing things he was able to witness because he didn’t give up.
What blessings do we risk missing if we don’t trust God? What miracles do we risk not witnessing if we give up? When God tells us the rain is going to fall and it doesn’t, are we willing to believe Him and trust Him and keep going until it does?
Remember: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You so much for giving each of us a mission for You. Thank you for the blessings and miracles you give us each and every day. Teach us to trust You to give us what we need to complete Your mission. Help us to never give up, no matter what obstacles we face, what other people say or how long it takes. Amen ~Robin
