Are We There Yet? Series

God’s Call to Change the World

Part 3

Learning to Wait With God

“Are We There Yet?”

Genesis 7-9

Introduction

The bible tells us that just as God called and used Noah to change the world, he has called us as well. And over the past two weeks we’ve observed two “world-changing” patterns or characteristics in Noah’s life:

1. Noah Was a Man Who Walked With God.

2. Noah Was a Man Who Worked With God.

Today we’re going to talk about the 3rd “world-changing” characteristic in Noah’s life which is found in Genesis, chapter seven:

17 For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth.

23 Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.

24 The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.

Genesis 7:17, 23-24 (NIV)

The 3rd “world-changing” characteristic in Noah’s life is . . .

3. Noah Was a Man Who Waited On God.

If ever there were a man who knew the value of waiting on God, it had to be Noah.

•Noah waited on God to help him complete the ark construction – 120 years.

•Noah waited on God to bring the animals into the ark.

•Noah waited on God to bring the rain – seven days.

•Noah waited on God to end the rain – forty days.

•Noah waited on God to rescind the flood waters – 150 days.

Have you ever met someone that just seem to have uncommon patience? Have you ever met someone who seemed to know the secret of waiting on God? Noah was such a person. He understood that God not only “orders our steps” (Ps. 37:23), but also our stops. Noah understood the value and knew the secret of waiting on God.

His secret? Noah understood that waiting on God is not a static process. You see, he realized that “while he was waiting, God was working”.

Transitional Sentence:

While Noah was waiting, God was working in

three specific areas of his life:

While he was waiting . . .

1. God Was Working in the Circumstances of Noah’s Life.

But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.

Genesis 8:1 (NIV)

Noah understood that when he was waiting, God was working. And the first area of his life where God was working were his circumstances. God had instructed Noah to build the ark, move in the animals, and move in his family. But just as we said last week, it was not raining when Noah entered the ark. In fact, it didn’t rain for an entire week after Noah entered the ark with his family. If we use our imaginations, we can over hear some of the conversations going on inside the big boat.

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Noah’s Wife: “Okay, Mr. ‘Boat-Building Biologist’, it’s been six days since we’ve stepped foot in this circus craft. When’s it going to start raining? Or is meteorology not your area of expertise?”

Noah: “God has promised to send the rain and the flood dear. And he’ll bring it about in his own timing. Please be patient Sweetheart.”

Noah’s Wife: “Your ‘Sweetheart Talk’ would work a lot better if you would move those skunks to the opposite end of our sleeping quarters!”

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And on the seventh day, God sends the rain. And it rains for forty days and forty nights. And that prompts another conversation:

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Noah’s Wife: “Noah! Is it going to rain for the rest of our lives? I can’t even remember what daylight looks like, let alone what fresh air use to smell like.

Noah: “God will end the rain when his purposes have been accomplished. It won’t be long dear, just have faith.”

Noah’s Wife: “It’s really hard to believe in sunshine when all I can hear is rain, all I can smell are animals and all I can feel are these wooden walls closing in on me. I feel like I’m going nuts and bananas at the same time.”

Noah: “Oh Sweetheart! Thank you so much! I forgot to feed the squirrels and the monkeys this morning.

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Well, after forty days and forty nights, it stops raining. And on and on it seems to go. They reach one milestone only to find themselves waiting on another one.

“When will you be finished?” When is it going to rain?” “When will it stop raining?” “When will we see daylight again?” When will the waters recede?” “When can we let these smelly creatures out of the boat?” “When will we ever get out of this boat?”