Strength in the Desert, Part 4

What to Do in Times of Waiting: Three Examples from Noah's Wife

The key to waiting on the Lord, from the perspective of Noah’s wife, is to do what you are supposed to do right now. Keep your eyes off next year or the next decade and keep them on today. Be loyal to God’s call for you right now. Noah’s wife gives us three great examples of being loyal to God’s call.

1. She Rested in the Future

Noah’s wife knew about the promise of Genesis 3:15. She knew that there would be a Messiah that would save the world from sin, but even more specifically, she trusted that the ark that God commanded them to build was going to protect her and her family. She knew that God would be faithful to keep his promises of giving rest to the world and that he would take care of her. For the believer in Christ, their ark is Christ himself. First Peter 3 makes that comparison and explains that we will escape our own deaths through the resurrection of Jesus Christ who has gone into heaven already. If you can skip ahead in your thinking to the end of your life as you know it, to the ark of Christ and his resurrection which guarantees safe passage to heaven, then whatever you are waiting for begins to fade in importance.

2. She Served her Family

Noah and his wife knew that God was going to kill everyone who did not believe and follow him. This provided excellent motivation for them to evangelize their own family. If they wanted their kids to survive, they had to trust God and get on the ark. She supported her husband even though he was literally the only person in the world proclaiming the truth of God. She rested in the hope of the future, but she also served her family in her present moments.

3. She Avoided False Contentment

Noah’s wife knew that her world was going to be changed forever. Her routines and her current home would be washed away and destroyed forever; however, she remained faithful to the Lord without drowning her sorrows with sinful pleasures of the world. Lot’s wife knew that God would pass judgment on her city, but she would not give up her lifestyle. Noah’s wife was willing to give up everything and trust the Lord for his plan.

While you are waiting, enjoy your life, but beware of trying to numb your pain with worldly pleasures. Demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit of God listed in Galatians 5, the fourth of which is patience. The flood was a big deal for Noah’s family, but it was also much bigger than just them. Through the flood, God cleansed the earth, stopped demons from violating God’s boundaries, and, of course, repopulated the earth with Noah’s family. From this family would come Israel, and eventually the living ark, Jesus Christ himself, the only deliverance we have from the judgment of God for our sin.