Genesis 8:1-16, Remain Patient

Genesis 8:1-16, Remain Patient

Nathan Wakefield / General Praise You in This Storm / Genesis 8:1-14

Theological Proposition/Focus: Trusting in God's faithfulness and timing, we can find hope and strength to patiently endure life's storms, knowing that He remembers us and fulfills His promises. Through obedience and faith, we can weather the difficulties of life. This passage teaches us the importance of patience, obedience, and faithfulness in waiting for God's timing and deliverance. It shows us that God is always faithful to remember His people and fulfill His promises.

Christ Focus: In Genesis 8, Noah's obedience and patience point to Jesus Christ, who endured suffering and remained obedient to the Father's plan, ultimately bringing salvation to all who believe. Christ is the ultimate example of patience and faithfulness in the midst of life's storms.

Homiletical Proposition/Application: In the midst of life's storms and difficulties, we can find hope and strength in God's faithfulness, remembering that He remembers us in our struggles. By remaining patient and obedient like Noah, we can trust in God's timing and promises.

Introduction

Image: I am not a patient person, but sometimes it is required—flying out of LNK

I am not a patient person, you can just ask Emily. Sometimes the Lincoln airport is a test of my patience. The airplane I fly needs just under 1,000 feet of runway to take off and even less runway to land. There are times when the Lincoln airport is moderately busy, and it just about eats me up inside. I will be sitting ready for takeoff, and the tower will tell me to wait. Then I pull up my radar and look, and sure enough, there are 3-4 planes in line for landing. As I sit and wait, I am constantly thinking to myself, "There is a solid two-minute gap between these airplanes. I can get out and be off the ground—just let me go." But the controller tells me to wait. They know what is best, and so I patiently wait. But waiting is hard!

Setting the Stage:

Last week, we finished with Noah, his family, and the animals in the ark, and the floodwaters upon the Earth for 150 days.

Body

Anchored Amidst Adversity - Patience is possible because God is the sovereign of the universe (8:1-5)

God's remembrance of Noah amidst the flood signals His unfailing presence even in our darkest times. Like Noah, believers are called to remain anchored in hope, trusting in God's sovereignty and timing despite not seeing immediate changes in our circumstances. This mirrors our faith in Christ, who endured the ultimate storm on our behalf.

Even though God's scale is incredible, He takes note of mere humans (1)

Genesis 8 begins with a simple phrase: God remembered Noah. But there is more. The contrastive word "but" is a reminder that, in contrast with the destruction brought upon the earth by the flood, God is about to do something else—restoration. "Remembered" is not a reference to God calling Noah to mind; instead, it refers to God's covenant fidelity. God is a promise keeper, and God's remembrance of Noah is a reference to His work to fulfill His promise.

God had promised to save Noah, and He was going to keep that promise. For the Israelites leaving Egypt at the time this was written, this would have been an important reminder: the God of the universe is not going to fail you. Though there were only eight people in the ark, God kept His promise to those eight.

We today must remember that God cares for us even though we are mere humans. God is not about to fail you, and you can depend on His promises. God has promised eternal life to all who accept Jesus as Savior—you can count on it. God has promised the Comforter—you can count on it. God has promised to meet your needs—you can count on it. God has promised that Jesus is coming again—you can count on it. When life is hard, remember: God takes note of mere humans.

Even though God's scale is incredible, He faithfully guides the small details (2-4)

The subterranean springs didn't just stop, and the rain didn't just stop. God sent wind over the earth to begin drying everything out. Slowly, creation was restored as the Earth began to heal from the devastation of the flood.

As the water receded, the ark fairly quickly came to rest on the top of a mountain. I grew up in Colorado, and there were a couple of times when major flooding occurred. I want you to realize something: when water flows and recedes, it is violent. The fact that the ark came to rest on a mountaintop kept the ark from that violence. It spent less time in the churning waters. But think about it—what are the odds? Mountain peaks are small in reality, and there really aren't that many mountain peaks around the world compared to the total area of the world. In fact, 71% of the earth is below sea level. God is a God of details, and He knew exactly what He was doing.

Image: White water rafting

Emily and I went white water rafting a couple of times. The currents are incredible. I remember one time we pulled the rafts aside so we could do a little swimming in a place where the water was calmer. We were jumping off a rock into this small pool of water. Well, Emily didn't quite jump far enough, and she landed in the moving water. She was instantly swept downstream and looked at me with a look of terror as the water pulled her away. Thankfully, we were prepared, and someone was downstream anchored in a raft in case something like this happened. He reached out, grabbed Emily, and pulled her into the raft.

Can you imagine what it would have been like if the ark had not come to rest on a mountain right away? I don't think white water rafting through the Grand Canyon in Noah's ark would work very well!

Even though God's scale is incredible, He still provides glimmers of hope (5)

Ok, picture this: the ark has come to rest on the top of a tall mountain, but as far as the eye can see, you just see water. The waters are receding, but it is taking forever. Then, after three months, there is a glimmer of hope. Sitting in the ark, you begin to see something. First, it is a little dot in the water, then the next day that dot has grown. A week later, the dot has begun to take shape—it is the top of a mountain. The water is, in fact, going down. The Earth is still around. Life is going to continue. The God of creation has restored the planet.

In life, God provides small reminders that He is in control. You may need to pay attention—they may only break through the surface of the water—but these glimmers of hope remind us that God is at work.

Awaiting Divine Directions - Patient waiting means we wait for God's signs and timing (8:6-12)

Noah's actions of sending out the raven and the dove display the idea of patiently waiting on God's signs and timing for deliverance. This illustrates the virtue of discernment and continued faithfulness in the smallest of actions, much like how Christ showed patience and obedience to God's will even in moments of suffering. Actively seek God's guidance in life's storms.

Noah's test reveals that he trusted God in the midst of patient waiting (6-8)

I want us to take a moment here and consider the flood timeline:

• Rain fell for 40 days.
• 110 days after the rain stopped (150 days in), the ark came to rest on Ararat.
• 74 days later (224 days in), the tops of other mountains became visible.
• 40 days later (264 days in), Noah sent out a raven.
• 7 days later (271 days in), Noah sent out the dove for the first time.
• 7 days later (278 days in), Noah sent out the dove, and it returned with an olive leaf.
• 7 days later (285 days in), Noah sent out a dove, and it did not return.
• 29 days later (314 days in), Noah removed the cover of the ark.
• 56 days later (370 days in), God commanded Noah to leave the ark.

Noah's persistence reveals that his trust was more than skin deep (9-11)

The raven in verse 7 is a scavenger and would have been capable of feeding on floating carcasses. Releasing the raven was a reminder that life would continue, but it was not a guarantee that life would flourish. The dove, on the other hand, was a test to see if life on the renewed Earth could flourish. Initially, the answer was "not yet." But as days passed, the dove returned first with a leaf, and then it did not return at all. The answer was clear—God was renewing the Earth.

Noah's patience reveals that he was willing to wait on God's timing (12)

I know what I would have done. The minute the ark came to rest, I would have popped open the door and gotten knee-deep in mud before realizing I had a major problem. Noah was patient. Noah waited on God.

You might now be thinking of specific nuanced scenarios, My answer, If we just slow down and take a moment to pray, then we know!

I'm guessing that at this point, some of you want to ask me about all sorts of specific, nuanced scenarios and what it means to wait on God's timing. Well, guess what? I think this is one of those situations where, if you just take a second, you know what it looks like. In the moment, we know what it looks like to jump ahead of God and what it looks like to wait. If we just slow down and take a moment to pray, then we know!

Image: Being willing to wait is really hard, Flying home from Alabama.

It was a stormy day, and Emily and I were in the middle of nowhere in Mississippi. We had just landed after flying through the worst storm I had ever been in earlier that morning. The clouds were thick above us, and I told Emily, "We are not doing that again. If the clouds are not at least 1,200 feet above the ground, we will not take off." "Agreed," she told me, and so we waited. After a nap, we checked the weather—900 feet was the report. "Well," I said, "there is a car here at the airport for pilots to use. Do you want to go into town and get Waffle House?" Dumb question—of course she did! As we sat at Waffle House, the rain began to fall (and like every good Waffle House, the roof began to leak). Good thing we waited, or we would have been in yet another storm.

We returned to the airport. I took the plane, filled it with gas, and we checked the weather—1,000 feet. "Well, we legally can go, but it is not 1,200 feet yet." And so we waited. Finally, as afternoon came, the report came in—1,200 feet. We loaded up the airplane and headed straight out. After taking off and hitting 700 feet, Emily got out the iPad and began navigating, giving me bearings on every tower and obstacle I needed to avoid. Finally, 30 minutes later, we were behind the stationary front, and the clouds began to break apart. We were home free. We could climb to 6,000 feet and enjoy the smooth air that altitude always brings.

As we finished the long flight home, we talked. We really should have waited for that first flight of the morning. Had we waited and been patient, we would have had a much easier day overall and probably never would have had to land in Mississippi.

Abiding in God's Assurance - Patience is only possible if you abide in God (8:13-16)

Noah's decision to wait for God's command before leaving the ark, despite the land being dry, proves that Noah was willing to abide in God's assurance. Complete obedience and patience in our walk with God means we take steps only when He directs us. Through Christ's sacrifice, we are assured of God's perfect timing and faithfulness in fulfilling His promises to us.

The dry land must have been inviting, but Noah waited for God (13-14)

314 days after the flood began, Noah finally removed the cover from the ark, opening it to the new world in which Noah found himself. The ground was finally able to support life, but Noah was willing to wait for God.

I've seen many a kid throw away a key part of a present because they didn't wait. I remember one Christmas, after burning the wrapping paper at the conclusion of unwrapping presents, my cousin realized that in the process of unwrapping gifts, he had left the gift card in the pile of paper.

We live in a world filled with blessings, but we must be careful. God is the giver of every perfect gift. James 1:17 states, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." Since God gives the gifts, we can trust His timing. When we abide in God's provision, we don't throw away the best part.

Noah waited.

God rewarded Noah's patience with a clear answer (15-16)

Finally, after 370 days, Noah and his family emerged from the ark. Noah patiently waited, and God definitively answered. So, what does that look like today?

• We should wait for God when making decisions.
  • God's answers may come through the study of His Word.
  • God's answers may come from conversations with His people.
  • God's answers may come from the direction of the Spirit.

Regardless, wait for God's answers. If you don't have peace, if no one else has seen the answer, and the Spirit is not leading you, then maybe you are in a Noah situation. The cover has been removed; you see what is good, but God hasn't told you to go just yet. If that's the case, then I would encourage you that instead of jumping in feet first, take a moment and ask God to give you a clear indication.

Image: Gideon and the fleece

About 15 years ago, a classmate and I were talking about discerning God's will, and I told her the story about Gideon and the fleece. God told Gideon that He would save Israel through Gideon's leadership, but Gideon wasn't sure. Instead of questioning if God was able to save Israel, Gideon seems to have questioned if he understood what God was going to do. So, Gideon asked God to participate in a sort of test. Gideon placed a wool fleece on the ground, and in the morning there was only dew on the fleece. But Gideon still wasn't completely sure, so the next night he put out the fleece again, and in the morning the fleece was dry but the ground was wet. I told my friend, "As long as you are not doubting God Himself, you are safe. You are allowed to doubt yourself and your interpretation of what is happening. Ask God for clarity! God is willing to work with us in our fallen inability to understand what He wants from us."

The next day, she told me she had intentionally left a blanket out on her balcony to see what would happen. Ok, maybe that wasn't the point, but the story of Gideon is important. We learn that we can afford to wait on God and ask Him for clarity. We can abide in God and trust that the Spirit, working through our hearts and the hearts of those around us, will clearly communicate our next steps.