Noah built an ark. In terms of human history, His obedience in doing so was extremely important. We can see that, looking back. But what did Noah think at the time? During the course of building the ark he preached to his neighbors (2 Peter 2:5). People didn’t listen. Perhaps they scoffed and mocked him. It took him one hundred twenty years to build the ark. We can assume he tried to warn people during that entire time, but no one paid any attention.
God warned Noah of a coming flood. Noah believed God and built the ark according to God’s instructions. He did this while living in the middle of a desert, with no experience with rain or floods. God didn’t initially tell Noah how long until the flood would come, He just warned of a flood and told him to get ready by building an ark. He gave him specific instructions, and Noah did everything as God instructed him. But I wonder. Did he have doubts, when the flood was so long coming? Did he question whether he heard God correctly when he became a target of mocking? Did he feel like a failure when he warned his neighbors of the coming judgment and no one listened? No one responded to his years of diligent preaching. Not a single convert. Except . . . .
Except his family. When God told him it was time to enter the ark, his family went in with him. They too believed God’s message. They helped him build the ark. They were saved.
When the door was shut, Noah undoubtedly felt sorrow and regret for those outside, but it was not a small thing that his family was saved in the ark. The human race started over because of Noah’s faithfulness to reach his family.
We may aspire to do ‘big things’ for God. God gave us life and purpose. The years that are devoted to raising and teaching our families may feel like a pause, or an interruption to other lofty goals. Let us never forget that our mission field is where we are in the moment. Our families are always the most significant part of our mission field.
During those times we may feel we didn’t do anything “important” for God, we can ask ourselves if we are being faithful in the little things. Have we been careful to teach our children about their Creator? Have we told our children that every good thing, including life itself, is a gift from God? Are we setting an example of gratitude? Have we shown kindness to someone? Have we offered encouragement? It is not necessary (and often counter-productive) to preach to our families, but we are accountable to be faithful where God has placed us and with what He has given us. The results are His responsibility; and His view of what is important may differ from ours.
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds . . . Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deuteronomy 11:18,19
Blessings,
Phyllis
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Copyright 2023 Phyllis L. Farringer
Always my favorite part of Thursday when your blog comes out. You do a great job to make these very applicable to our current situation. Thank you and keep up the good work
Thank you, Paul
Spot on, my friend! Excellent post, as always.
Thank you, Nora
Thank you!
Thank you, Debby