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In the Time of Waiting

Words of Faith Final

In the Time of Waiting
Words of Faith 2-17-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Genesis 8
    [6] After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark [7] and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. [8] Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. [9] But the dove could find no place to set its feet because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. [10] He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. [11] When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. [12] He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.

        This was no short cruise! Can you imagine? The 40-day cruise was extended at sea! The flood lasted 377 days from the beginning of the rain until the ground was dry. Noah and his family spent a total of 1 year and 17 days in the ark including the 7-day wait for the rain to start! Wow. (I hope the buffet was well-stocked.)
       There is no indication that Noah was impatient with the Lord. There were no Instagram posts or interviews with seasick animals. But after 377 days, someone on that boat was probably wondering when this would end.
       There is a powerful image here. The journey of God's salvation often takes us through days when we could think we have been abandoned, but God always remembers His people.
       God was indeed at work. This whole "blotting out" project was one of the most extraordinary feats of engineering... ever. Now, God was at work stopping the flow of the waters He had released. He was removing the source of the floods. But it still took time for the waters to recede.
       The Raven became the testing tool during this waiting period. It was finally a dove, a symbol of peace, that returned with an olive leaf-- another sign of peace! The raging flood was finally over, and a new peace was being established upon the earth.
       Waiting is one of our most difficult tasks. The prophet Isaiah declared: "I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in him. Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion" (Isaiah 8:17-18).
         Waiting is a decision that we make. One might argue that we really have no choice, but waiting on the Lord is a decision of hope. Isaiah put it this way-- "But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" (Isaiah 40:31).
         No matter what is going on-- no matter how difficult it gets, no matter the vastness of the waters that surround us-- our hope is in the Lord. As we wait upon Him, He will renew our strength. At the end of the flood, we will soar on wings like eagles.

         Father God, I choose hope. I choose to wait, in the time of waiting. I choose to turn my eyes upon You and put my trust in You. Make me a sign and symbol of who you are. Reveal Your faithfulness in me. In Jesus' name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)        
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.