“The struggle is real.” Why yes…yes, it is. For this wife/mom, the mental struggle is way more taxing than the physical. Am I training my kids to love Jesus? Am I feeding my family healthy enough? Am I teaching them all the things they should know before they leave home? Am I too hard/too soft on my kids? Are they going to resent me for not involving them in all the extra-curricular activities? Am I encouraging my family enough in their walks with Christ? Am I praying for them as regularly as I should? Are we ministering adequately? This list could fill multiple pages.
This morning I was reading aloud Genesis 6 and 7 to my kids at breakfast, recounting all the details of Noah’s story…again. I will never cease to be amazed at the way God freshly speaks through scriptures I’ve read so many times before. It seems that each time I read this story, I gain new insight. As I was reading, my mind went to a message our pastor recently presented, which pointed to the fact that God didn’t give Noah many details when it came to building the ark. The basics were there, but no real specifics on how Noah would carry out this activity day by day over the next century. Noah had to rely on God each moment of his day to complete this enormous task. The point was made that this is also true of mothers and fathers raising their children.
I am desperately trying to seek the Lord as I raise my children; and yet, there are so many moments I still don’t get it right. One day I’m lazy, another day I’m too busy, and still another, I’m just plain cranky. I am terrified that my children are going to turn eighteen (or whatever the magic age is when they’re suddenly “grown”), and all those collected moments I failed are going to come rolling in like a giant snowball barreling me over. Will they love the Lord? Will they seek Him with all their hearts? Will I have given them everything they need? (Maybe the analogy of a torrent of my failures falling from the sky would work better here.)
“Noah did everything just as God commanded him.” Genesis 6:22
“And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.” Genesis 7:5
I want to be like Noah here. I want so much to obey all the Lord is commanding me to do. But there’s this sin nature I simply can’t entirely escape. As I was explaining this to my children, I began to think of the sin nature Noah inevitably had as well. As the ark was being completed and the animals began boarding, did he think about that piece of wood he didn’t measure correctly? What if he missed a spot when he was covering it with pitch? Maybe he was distracted one day and didn’t….(I don’t know. I’m out of examples. I’m not a carpenter obviously.) And then I read this beautiful piece of Genesis 7:16- “Then the Lord shut him in.” Tears flowed down my face as I realized the Lord had just given me an answer to my worrying. THE LORD shut Noah and his family in. It didn’t matter if Noah missed a step, because he was ultimately trying to follow the Lord and being obedient to Him. God took care of the rest. I picture the hands of God closing the door and sealing over every crack to perfectly protect them.
“Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.” Genesis 15:6
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1
“‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges My name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life, I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.'” Psalm 91:14-16
Father, thank You for the promise of salvation and peace when we call on You. Remind me often that I am not running this show, but that I am simply to be obedient to You. May I rest in the shadow of the Almighty, trusting You to accomplish Your great purposes for my life and for those of my family. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.