“As you accept God’s invitation to come, you will also need patience and a plan. You will need patience for yourself and for others — the naysayers who show up for you and the naysayer you can be to yourself. There will be doubt others bring you, the doubt you bring yourself, and the doubt you bring to others. We’re not exempt from any of it. But we always have the chance to make the decision to rise above the doubt.”- Nicki Koziarz
Then the LORD said to Noah, “Come in to the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.”- Genesis 7:1 (NKJV)
Nicki Koziarz concludes Chapter 7 of Flooded as she discusses the third decision she presents in this book, The decision to rise above the doubt. Noah worked faithfully on building the ark for over 120 years. Furthermore, Nicki stresses, Noah rose above the:
- culture
- fear of man
- impossible, doubt-filled feelings this assignment surely brought
So now God gives Noah one last command: come. As Nicki’s theological friend David Abernathy notes, only the KJV and the NKJV translate come. All others translate as go or enter. Thus, come represents God’s command to go into the ark. And since God is omnipresent, entering the ark is like going into a sanctuary – where all life will be preserved.
Certainly, it’s far easier to enter a hard place when God’s commanded it. Thus, for Noah, the last command to come washes away all his doubts, fears, and critical words spoken over him.
In conclusion, Nicki relates to how hard it is to round up animals. For Noah, loading all the animals on the ark surely required patience and a plan. Nicki exhorts:
“Somehow Noah got all these animals onto that ark. Somehow you will also do the hard things. Because God is never a naysayer. And He believes in you more than anyone on this earth ever could.”
Today’s question: What Bible verses help you develop patience and a plan to fulfill God’s calling? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Usher us into obedience – a long wait?”
