WORSHIP
SCRIPTURE
When I was a teenager my friend’s grandpa offered us $250 each to stain his deck. That’s serious cheese to a couple kids, so we jumped at the opportunity! Sight unseen, we showed up ready to cash in on the task. His grandpa walked us to the backyard and introduced us to the Caesar’s Palace of decks. It had two massive levels, stairs, railings, and hadn’t been stained since construction. My friend and I learned a valuable lesson from our rookie mistake – always check the job before agreeing to it!
That’s sound business advice, but the opposite is true when it comes to following the Lord. Faithfulness is doing what God wants, the way God wants it, with God’s heart – even when we don’t know the “job.” As we read through Noah’s story I couldn’t help but be inspired by his faithfulness. After being assigned the near-impossible task of building an ark, collecting animals, and preparing for a worldwide flood, Scripture simply says, “So Noah did everything as the Lord had commanded him.” (Genesis 6:22)
The account begins with Noah finding favor with God (Genesis 6:8). What follows is a beautiful summary of Noah’s character that reveals the heart behind his faithfulness to God. Genesis 6:9 shares, “This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.”
What does a faithful character look like?
Righteousness, blamelessness, and walking closely with God.
Noah was righteous, meaning he was concerned and intentional about living rightly before God. During a time when everyone was living for themselves, Noah remained faithful to living like God.
Noah was blameless, living out a purity that was opposite of the sinful culture that surrounded him.
Lastly, Noah walked closely with God. After the floodwaters had receded and Noah was clear to leave the boat, his first action was a sacrifice of worship to the Lord. Genesis 8:20-21 recounts, “Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose. And the Lord was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice…”
A faithful character brings blessing to our life and pleases God. Noah was found faithful, lived righteously, acted blamelessly, and walked close to God. May our lives resemble the same!
PRAYER
Honor God