Scripture
It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith. Hebrews 11:7
Observation
Scholars believe it took upwards of 75 years to build the Ark. Can you imagine how tiring it would be to build a boat in the middle of the desert? The ridicule from the outside the self-doubt from the inside and that was just year one. Yet, Noah kept obeying and he kept building to prepare for something he’d never seen before. His faith was indefatigable. And that’s just one of the saints mentioned in the hall of faith in Hebrews 11. The author talks about how their “weakness was turned to strength”(vs. 34) in the waiting, in the wandering, in the wondering, and in the watching they put their faith in the One they could not see and refused to give up.
Application
Monday morning I will admit I woke up pretty tired to the point where not even the coffee was helping. Then, the Holy Spirit dropped a word into my spirit that I don’t recall ever having used in a sentence before- “Indefatigable”. I had to look it up. It means “incapable of tiring, tireless, and inexhaustible.” A great example of this word in history was Winston Churchill who was famous for his “we shall never surrender” speech flung in the face of Nazi Germany after the British army had been chased off the continent in 1940. He lived by the motto, “Success is going from defeat to defeat without losing your enthusiasm.” An even better example of being ‘“indefatigable is found in our God who is described in Isaiah 40:8: "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary.” Our God never runs out of energy and when we put Him first, when we serve Him first, when we wait on Him first:
"He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.”
You see when we serve others first we run out of energy and end up resenting the very ones we’ve been called to serve (can I hear an “amen” from the parents?). When we serve and wait on the Lord first we never run out of the energy we need to serve others. I have been so impressed with the “can do” attitude of our Father House team. When we were told we would need to wear masks when we regathered, we said: “can do”. When we were told we couldn’t sing inside we said: “can do”. Now we’ve been told by Gov. Newsom we can’t meet inside at all… again… only four weeks after we regathered on Father's Day. Needless to say, I had no idea when God gave me that word that morning how much I would need to lean on my Indefatigable God to strengthen my fatigued faith. Thankfully, as last week's worship set proved, our church is ready and willing to do whatever it takes to come together even if it means we are out in the parking lot.
Prayer
Thank You, Lord, for this morning’s word in Hebrews 11 that backed up yesterdays word. Like Noah and the rest of the men and women of faith mentioned I want my faith to grow stronger, not weaker during these times of testing and trial. Here I am, frustrated that it’s taking longer than six months to get past this Pandemic, but Noah prepared for 75 years. I needed this perspective shift. I’m not waiting for the changing circumstance. I’m waiting on the unchanging God. I know your heart is not in this Pandemic, but Your hand is using it to reach my heart. Where I feel worn out I lean into Your strength this morning. Where I have run out of energy I invite the power of Your Holy Spirit to fill me to overflowing once again.
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