When the line is long and the clock is ticking, do you like to wait? Or do you say to yourself, the Lord must have a reason for this delay? Do you look around, and you say to yourself, “I should have planned better.” That’s placing the blame on yourself. What if God is in the delay?
Noah spent decades building the ark. On the Sabbaths, he shared the Word of God, evidently to no avail. When God said, “Enter the ark,” only Noah’s family did so. Eight people in the entire world avoided destruction.
Let’s look at this event from a different perspective. Noah’s neighbors were going into eternity. This community and the world rejected God’s warning, message, and messenger.
God waited patiently for Noah to build a 450-foot vessel. It was three stories high. Can you imagine the number of trees needed for this endeavor? When one of Noah’s sons yelled T-I-M-B-E-R, another community member rejected God’s message of the coming judgment.
Patiently, day after day, t-i-m-b-e-r after t-i-m-b-e-r echoed through the land as our Lord waited for individuals to accept Noah’s message. The ark was big enough to receive thousands, but only eight believed the message of judgment. Noah remained faithful. Discouragement surrounded him, but God’s presence kept Noah and his family focused on obedience.
What does this illustration mean to you? Your godly labor may seem fruitless. The harder you work, the fewer results you see. So, what do you do? Take a lesson from Noah. Keep being faithful. The result of your dedication may not be yours to see in your lifetime. But afterwards, the tree of encouragement will bear fruit for others to eat.
Focus is the key. The harvest time is in the Lord’s hands, not yours. But faithfulness is a decision that only you can make. What will you do?
God waited.
Noah constructed the ark. He was faithful.
The rest is history.