“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Have you ever wondered what it was like to be Noah’s wife? She didn’t receive a message from God, yet her life was turned upside down by her husband’s mission to build the ark. She directly felt the impact of the long hours Noah spent building the ship. She got by with less when her husband used their resources for his project. She faced the ridicule of their friends and neighbors who didn’t understand why someone would build an enormous boat miles from any body of water. The Bible never tells us that God gave Noah’s wife any first-hand information. She had no choice but to trust her husband.
How do we respond to the calling of those around us? Had I been Noah’s wife, he would have endured a peppering of endless questions. God told you to do what? Are you sure it was God? How do you know? Are you sure this is what He told you? How do you know? Are you sure you are supposed to do this right now? How do you know?
My church is facing a situation where the elders have each received the same message from God (all nine of them), and the rest of the congregation is asking the questions. This is a dilemma we come across often in life. At what point do we trust another person to have accurately heard, interpreted, and understood a message from God, and when do we question? When God speaks to someone close to us, but leaves us in the dark, how do we respond?
I foresee having a hard time with this when my children get older and start telling me about their own callings. Will I trust that they have listened well to God and keep my hands to myself and my mouth shut as He uses them?
When God’s plans are directed at those around us and we struggle with knowing how to respond, the only thing we really can do is to pray. We can ask God to help us know how to react, how to participate, or to understand if any action is even necessary. When praying about our church situation earlier this week, God told me to hold the course. “You are right where I want you,” He said. “This is not a time I want you getting involved or rocking the boat.” Sometimes we have to be content in simply doing nothing more than having the faith to trust someone else.
Who is God calling you to trust today? What can you do to teach your children how to discern between trustworthy people and those who aren’t honest?
2 comments:
Dianne, Great and thought provoking post! Discernment is something I SO want Noah to have but I must teach him first in the little things, like discerning if his choices in school or right or wrong. Discernment is something that comes through consistent relationship with God, too. I so pray that Noah will have his own relationship with God, full of discernment. But I can't control that. Thanks for making me think. AGAIN! :0)
You would think that parenting gets easier as they grow up, when in fact it gets harder in some respects. I was faced with this very dilemma today.
As a parent of adults, sometime all I can do is pray and keep my mouth shut. So that's what I'm doing - and as you know I am a woman of action and speaking. the good news is that it gets easier with practice.
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