Tell me a time He’s not been faithful
Never a Time – The Perry’s
Tell me a morning His mercies weren’t new
Tell me a moment. He wasn’t able to carry you through
Tell me a day He was less than Almighty
When He could not roll back the tide
Child, when you look back, you’re gonna find
There was never a time.
Talking with my Grandpa and Grandma one afternoon, I asked them how they raised three children successfully. Grandpa paused and then joked, “Well, hon, we did the best we could with what we had to work with.” Laughter erupted at his humor.
The Bible calls Noah a just man, perfect in his generation (Genesis 6:9). God needed someone he could count on to build a boat so that all of creation and humanity would not be lost. Noah was found righteous. Year after year, Noah keeps his tools and mission steady. A boat was being fashioned, and his faith was being tested.
I can see a little boy asking his father, “What is it, Dad?” “Oh, that’s just crazy, Noah, Son. He says it will rain from the sky, but no one knows what that means?”
Before the flood, historians believe the earth was like a canopy that watered itself from beneath. The water came up from the ground. No one at the time Noah built the ark would have known what rain was.
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One by one, I ripped pictures of dreams off my closet wall. Once again, my faith was tested, and I wasn’t handling it victoriously. I felt defeated. How could I build a boat when I couldn’t even lift a hammer? I knew Chuck must have seen the pictures laying all over the closet floor, but he never said a word. I didn’t have the heart to throw them away. I guess I was hoping for a life-line. Chuck walked into the living room several days later. He picked up a conversation we never started. He said, “Faith. Your gift is faith.” No matter what it is, you just believe it. Don’t stop dreaming. Hang your pictures back up.”
Kenneth Hagin said, “I would never go to church if I were looking for a spiritual person. I would go to their home. If you don’t live right at home, you haven’t got anything. Children are not raised in a church atmosphere each day; they are raised at home.”
Noah wasn’t building for the masses but for his family. He knew without the boat, his family perished.
One by one, I began to hang my pictures back up. Even with the rips and tears, I could see the boat I desired to build for my family. I couldn’t let them down.
“You better make sure you build a boat that won’t sink. No matter who you win, it’s your family God entrusted to you first. – You can buy a house, but you build a home.”
Jim Stockdale (I like to call him, Pops)
My father encouraged me during these rough waters, “I have questioned my faith so many times, but God is faithful to redeem my weaknesses. He is bigger than our doubts. It’s why the man who said, “I believe but help my unbelief,” wasn’t thrown to the wolves. Jesus will help us if we ask. He didn’t let Peter drown. He questioned why he doubted, then helped him back to safety. Keep dreaming, Sis. Even with the scars, faith will lead you to safety. You will know when to step out of the boat.”
When your faith is tested, and rest assured, it will be, go back to the last word you heard, the last time God was faithful. Remember how He parted the waters. Remember the times he showed up before you knew you needed him.
As father and son catch a glimpse of God closing the door to the ark, something lands on the shoulder of the young boy. He looks up; another drop lands on his forehead. “What is it, dad?” “I don’t know, son. Perhaps it’s rain…”
“Then the Lord said to Noah, Come into the ark, you and all your household…” Genesis 7:1
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