Building a boat in the middle of the desert…
In a time when sin filled the earth and great wickedness was in the earth, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord!
Noah was not a perfect man, but Noah walked with God. That means he had a relationship with God and that relationship with God brought about grace from God. This divine grace was not earned by Noah, but it was the undeserved favor that God extended to Noah. (There is something special about having a relationship with God. In other words, you are entitled to benefits when you walk with God.)
The wickedness of the earth grieved God, and God was about to do a new thing! God, through grace, selected Noah for a mighty work. God told Noah to build an ark, a container that would float on water. Now, Noah had never seen an ark before. He had never seen rain and lived among people who had never seen rain.
Those people who were outside of Noah’s household family circle were quick to point out that he was building a strange vehicle for which there was no use, and he was spending his time doing foolish work. The work seemed unproductive to those around Noah. However, Noah kept on working year after year and decade after decade, doing work that looked foolish to those who saw his work and sounded foolish to those who discussed his work.
Noah was building a boat in the middle of a desert! There was no water to float the boat. There was no earlier history as a testament that there was a need for a boat. The boat did not fit into the plan of society to help the with building of the boat, and there was no support from the community, no, there was no support from the world that supported the builder of the boat. Propelled by faith and based on a relationship with God, Noah continued to build a boat in the middle of the desert.
God has called upon you to build and you do not know the full reason for building or even why you were chosen as the builder. He has called you out of the world to come into the sanctuary and be a teacher, a preacher, a trustee, a steward, a choir member or a deacon.
He has called you to build back credibility by being a witness to the truth, to call a lie a lie and to do so without apology. He has called you to build back respectability, as some things have to be put away to be a representative of the Most High God. Indeed, God has called you to build a moral compass that can serve as a guide to others because the compass is built upon a solid foundation, the Word of God.
The Bible describes believers as lights in this world (Matthew 5:14). What better way to display a light than to build “structures” that God has called you to build. We can receive guidance from the steadfastness and tenacity of Noah as he built the ark, and we can use the three keys that Noah use
1. Incline your ears unto the Lord: Those who have not yet heard or acknowledged the call to build will not understand your passion or your persistence. Biblical scholars do not agree how long Noah worked on the ark, but there is no doubt that those around Noah, no matter how long he worked, talked about him, talked to him and ridiculed his work and his decision to build. His detractors were not silent because God had spoken, but this righteous man who had found favor with God maintained his relationship with God. He could still hear the Lord’s voice. The Lord had given Noah his instruction and in the relationship with God Noah’s hearing was not subjected to the negativity of people. Instead of the rhetoric of people, Noah heard and followed God.
2. Lean not to your own understanding, but follow God: The Holy Spirit connects our spirt to God, who is spirit. God told Noah exactly how to build the ark. God said it should be as long as a 30-story building. It had to be 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. Noah was told how and where to add the windows for ventilation and light. God told Noah what each floor would be used for in this three-story building. Noah followed the plan of God.
God is not looking for sacrifices. He wants us to live right. He wants us to talk right. He wants us to treat other people right. He wants us to love right. He wants us to be right. Obedience is better than sacrifice!
3. Put your hand in it: God told Noah to build the ark. Noah did not assign his task to someone else. You may not know why you were told to build a boat in the middle of the desert, but do not stop and do not assign it to another person.
When Noah did what God instructed him to do, he saved his family first and through his obedience he saved the human race.
