The Faith of Noah

Noah’s faith always amazes me. I’m in awe of the man who remained righteous amid a corrupt world and maintained trust and obedience to God even when his task was enormous. He’s mentioned in Hebrews 11 as an example of faith.

“By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” ~ Heb 11:7

The Story

Noah’s story is found in Genesis 6:5 through 9:29. Here we learn that everyone on earth had only wicked thoughts all the time (Gen 6:5) — except Noah. Noah was righteous and walked with God. (Gen 6:9) And because of his righteousness, God chose Noah (and his family) to be saved by means of an ark while the entire world was awash in cleansing water.

According to experts, this ark was the largest water vessel built until about the 1800’s. For those of you who love facts and figures, this boat probably displaced about 22,000 tons of water and its carrying capacity was equal to about 522 railroad cars (that’s about 4 or 5 trains).  I can only imagine Noah looking at the ark as he was building it and wondering how on earth something so large and heavy would ever even float. And rain? Most scholars agree that it hadn’t rained before Noah’s time, and he lived far away from any source of water that could lift a boat so large.

The Faith  

And that’s how faith is sometimes with us. We may never be called to build a gigantic structure by hand or preserve mankind, but we are sometimes asked by God to do things we can’t understand and that seem much too large for us. Whatever God has asked us to do, like Noah we can walk by faith and fully trust our loving Father.

Here are some lessons about faith that we can learn from Noah:

• Noah was the only righteous person of faith in a corrupt world. Faith can be maintained despite the beliefs of others around you.
• Noah was obedient. Faith is not only felt, it’s lived out through obedience.
• Noah was committed to obedience despite his circumstances. Faith in the unseen affects one’s perception of the seen. (It didn’t matter to Noah that there was no rain yet or that his peers might ridicule him. He saw things through the lens of faith.) Obedience to God doesn’t depend on circumstances.
• Noah trusted God to do His part, while Noah did his. (God brought animals, sealed the door, brought rain, and saw to Noah’s safety.) Trust in God is inseparable from faith.
• Noah was blessed by living out his faith. As we live out our faith, we are blessed, too.

Noah’s job wasn’t easy or quick and didn’t appear necessary to those with no faith. Yet, Noah’s great faith drove him. “Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.” (Gen 6:22) He didn’t just feel faith, or hold a belief, but he lived it.

I can imagine that as the rains pounded down and the floods rose up, and the waters surrounded the ark, Noah’s faith was purified even more. He must have felt his smallness. And I’m certain that as the waters receded and the puddles dried up, Noah’s faith was blessed immensely as he saw God’s power and character magnified. Why would one not trust in our All-Powerful God?

The Call to Action

Similarly to Noah, we are also called to demonstrate our faith by action. Jesus told us, in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” {Of course, we aren’t saved by works, but works, or actions, are a natural byproduct of living a life of faith. (See James 2:17)}  “Now the just shall live by faith.” (Heb 10:38 and Hab 2:4) As Believers, we not only live eternally because of our faith, but we also should live with the daily exercising of our faith.  Thankfully, God gives us the Holy Spirit to help us!

So, how does Noah’s story encourage you? How can you live by faith where God has planted you?

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Similarly to Noah, we are also called to demonstrate our faith by action. #ByFaith @DoNotDepart

Lessons from Noah’s story: learning to walk by faith and trust in God. #ByFaith @DoNotDepart