By Faith... Waiting on God

Hebrews 11:7 (NKJV) By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark…

Are you good at waiting? Typically, I would say yes, I tend to lean towards the ability to patiently wait. I don’t mind waiting at a restaurant, in line at the store or even for something to come by mail. However, when I need something important from God, my patiently waiting shortens quite a bit.

Most of us have heard the story of Noah at least once. There are even movies out about Noah and the great flood. What we usually remember is the great ark he built, the animals coming two by two, the great flood and the rainbow of promise. We look at Noah’s perseverance to obey God even when those around mocked him. There’s another inspirational fact about Noah.

What if I told you that Noah had a period when he had to wait? He had two, but we are going to talk about the first period of waiting. Noah was given this God-sized project, which literally took years to accomplish, in preparation for something that God called a flood. Have you ever wondered if Noah ever grew tired of waiting for that day of rain? Did he ever think, I’m never going to be done with this ark so God we need another plan for deliverance?

Here’s an important fact that I believe serves as inspiration for us. Noah had a job to do that required lots of preparation to be completed. If he had begun asking God to send the rain before he had completed his project… you and I would likely not be here. If Noah was impatient with God and begged for the rain and God answered, then Noah’s family would have perished along with the whole human race.

There’s a lesson that we can all learn from Noah and his faith in God. Sometimes we must finish preparing some tasks before God brings what we are waiting for. What Christ has begun; He will finish (Philippians 1:6). Sometimes He’s waiting on us to complete something. Sometimes He simply wants us to learn how to wait.

John Piper writes, “Waiting on the Lord is the opposite of running ahead of the Lord, and it’s the opposite of bailing out on the Lord, it’s staying at your appointed place while He says stay, or it’s going at His appointed pace while He says go. It’s not impetuous, and it’s not despairing.”

We have a choice to make. Run without God or take a deep breath, continue the work that God has laid before us (even if that work is simply waiting), release our own expectations and let things happen in His time… let God be God. For Noah, his moment of waiting was memorialized in the New Testament book of Hebrews, chapter 11, verse 7, "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith." What will you accomplish, by faith?