Be Like Noah!
Have you ever wondered how discouraged you would feel if you and your family were the only ones following God in the entire world? Have you ever wondered how silly you would feel building a ginormous boat for a worldwide flood, having never witnessed or even heard of one?
Most children who grow up in the church know the story of Noah and the ark. It was a time when the earth was corrupted by evil people, except for a man named Noah (and his family), who found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:8). Evil was so widespread and common (Genesis 6:5) that God decided to destroy the world with a flood. He instructed Noah to build an ark, how to build it, what to use, what animals to bring, etc., and Noah obeyed God (Genesis 6:22; 7:5). Noah, his family, and the animals in the ark were saved (Genesis 7:13-16), while all other living things were destroyed (Genesis 7:23). After 40 days and nights of constant rain, and approximately a year on the ark, God delivered Noah, his family, and all the living creatures out of the ark onto dry land (Genesis 8:15-19). At that time, God promised never again to flood the entire earth, and He put His rainbow in the sky as a sign of this promise (Genesis 9:11-17). With Noah, the earth was again populated. What can we learn from Noah?
Be Faithful and Obedient Like Noah
Noah is one of the greatest examples of faith and obedience in the Bible. In the “Hall of Faith” (Hebrews 11), Noah is commended for his faith and godly fear, which moved him to obey God even when he could not see what lay ahead (v. 7). True faith leads to obedience. James tells us that faith without works is dead (James 2:17). Noah could have believed that God would save him without building an ark, but in the end, he would have drowned if he had not obeyed God’s command. He could have made the ark out of pine instead of gopherwood (Genesis 6:14) and brought one of each animal into the ark instead of two (Genesis 6:19), but he did exactly as God commanded. The full deliverance from God requires full obedience.
As Noah, we must have strong faith that drives us to obey God in everything we do. We must trust God even if we can’t see the whole picture. Although we may not fully understand what will happen, we serve a God Who knows everything. Therefore, obeying Him in everything is always the safe and right way.
Be Patient Like Noah
In 2019, COVID began to spread like wildfire. I remember growing impatient during that time. Being quarantined or having to distance myself from others was stressful. I missed my friends and church family. I longed for the day when it simply felt “normal” again.
Imagine how Noah felt. He must have felt so alone when the whole world was corrupted by evil. He must have longed for just one friend to share God’s love with (Noah had his family, of course). Imagine how lonely and long it felt during the time in the ark. Just thinking about all these things makes me a little impatient. And yet, not once do we read of Noah’s impatience or complaints. Noah had great patience with God’s plan. He never tried to rush God or even ask why everything had to take so long. He patiently waited for God’s plan to unfold while he did his own part as well.
We need to learn the art of patience today; patience is a virtue (Galatians 5:22-23). We must have this virtue in all aspects of our lives. We must have patience when we don’t get our way. We must have patience to rightly discern God’s Word. We must have patience when we go through difficult times. The list could go on forever. Learning to be patient will take us far in life and help us cope with its “floods.”
Conclusion
When we read the story of Noah in Genesis 6-9, we can learn so many great lessons from him. We see many of his great qualities, such as his love for God, his dedication, faith, obedience, patience, and much more! Noah is an amazing example, and although he too sinned like any other human, he was faithful to God and found grace before His eyes. Like him, we should always strive to find grace in the eyes of our Lord.
Published in Christian Family 11.2 (2026): 14-15.
