Expect More From God

“The LORD then said to Noah, ‘Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth. Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.’ And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him” (Genesis 7:1-5, NIV).

God does not only give us life. Everything we need to live, He does not withhold from us. We could also have wealth, fame and power. We could also expect good health from Him. Or, a happy life, good friends, peaceful place to live in. Of course, He is Sovereign and He could grant us trials.

If even the unbelievers could experience the “good” life, how about those who received the new life from God -- the righteous? Should they expect different or even greater favors?

So, this time we’ll discuss the topic… EXPECT MORE FROM GOD, as we deal with our text (Genesis 7:1-5).

After we experience regeneration, granted the saving faith, being declared righteous, what could else could we expect from God in this life?

In chapter 4, we realized that God looked with favor on Abel and in Gen. 6:8 and the same was true with Noah. It was so not because of their own human performance, but if we consider the whole context of the Scripture, particularly Hebrews 11, we saw that Abel and Noah were declared righteous by God because of their faith – faith that was actually God given.

Now, as we deal with out text, as recipient of the saving faith from God, what else we could expect from Him?

I – GOD COULD GIVE US EXTRAORDINARY WORK (verses 2-3).

We read verses 2-3, “Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth.” 

Did God command Noah in the passage to accomplish what is easy and ordinary? Of course, not. Even in Genesis 6:14-16, He directed Noah to build not just an ordinary boat. And it was not just a big boat. But it was similar to a modern battleship or an aircraft carrier!

After the extraordinary task of building the extraordinary boat, God also instructed Noah the extraordinary task of gathering his extraordinary “passengers” – not just his family – but, as we also read in Gen. 6:19-21, “You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”

As God worked in an extraordinary way, as we read in Genesis 7:4, “Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made,” He also commanded Noah to accomplish an extraordinary work.

God’s people, today, should not expect that life will be easy. They should not entertain the idea that God will allow them to experience what is just comfortable and convenient.

They should not think that because God could give His grace freely – the saving faith comes from Him, not from our own human will or effort – that good health or material wealth would automatically fall on our laps.

What they should really expect from God who worked extraordinarily in their life – giving them a new and converted heart, giving them godly desires, saving them from God’s wraith – is also an extraordinary task. Paul expressed it this way in his letter to the Christians in Ephesus, which we are so familiar:

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:8-10).

And those “good works” are not easy.

So, believers or lovers of Christ, do we realize this? Do we expect that God could direct us to do something what is impossible?