January 4

Genesis 8:1-10:32; Matthew 4:12-25; Psalm 4:1-8; Proverbs 1:20-23

How do you know when it’s time to make your next move? Noah had been in the ark for more than 150 days. He saw that the rain stopped so he sent out a raven and a dove to “test” if it was time to leave the ark. Days and weeks passed and he tried to “discern” when to leave the ark.

Noah opened up the window and removed the covering of the ark in an attempt to see if it was okay to get out of the boat. With all of his “testing”, “discerning”, and “looking”, Noah did not leave the ark until one significant thing happened: God told him to. After all, who was the One who told Noah to enter the ark in the first place? It was God! So, shouldn’t God have the right to tell Noah when it’s time to get off of it?

Noah could have saved himself a lot of time and energy if he had just trusted that the same God who led him to enter the ark would also tell him when to exit. Often we try to help God out because we think maybe He forgot about us in all of His busyness. As we make our feeble efforts to help God, it only adds to our frustrations. I suspect Noah thought things like: “When can I get off this ark?” “The dove didn’t come back surely I can go now.” “I can see that the land is almost dry it has to be time to leave.”

When we give our lives to God and truly trust Him to lead us and guide us, we have to even remain at peace when it feels like we are staying in the ark too long. If we get ahead of God, it can cause real troubles for us. Trying to help God out usually complicates things. Let’s practice trusting God’s leading today. Just sit back and enjoy the experience until God says it’s time to make the next move. This will alleviate your frustration and cause you great peace because God knows when we should make our next move.

Tomorrow’s Reading: Genesis 11:1-13:4; Matthew 5:1-26; Psalm 5:1-12; Proverbs 1:24-28