Daily Devotionals for Women - Today's Encouraging Word from Scripture

FORCING THINGS TO WORK

Then God said to Noah, “Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you.” Genesis 8:16

God shut the door to the ark, bringing finality to Noah’s time on land. When he put his feet on solid ground again, it would be on a new and pristine planet. After 100+ days in the ark, I can imagine that everyone on board was antsy to get off.

I’m one who gets motion sickness easily but I will also tell you that I’ve been on violent seas. In my early twenties, the singing group that I was part of went on a Caribbean cruise during hurricane season. We encountered very rough seas. To sing in the ballroom for our Bible Study sessions, each of us in the group had to clutch a pillar in order to stand up while singing. To say that I was eager to get off the ship is an understatement.

As anxious as Noah was to exit the ark, he knew to wait for God to release him. To leave the safety of his wooden haven was to risk living on an earth that wasn’t ready for habitation. The seeds he would plant there wouldn’t encounter proper growing conditions.

There is not much of a harvest when it is forced. Only God can prepare the ground for the seed. I have known the frustration of trying to make things happen on my own. I produced one Ishmael after another. Utter frustration was the result. Getting older has taught me to wait for God to till the soil and release me from present confinement.

Someone wants to be a truth teller to a family member today. The seed will not be received if God has not prepared the soil of their heart. Another wants to step out of a stressful place and start fresh by forcing circumstances to work. A heavenly rhythm will not accompany their efforts and striving will bring exhaustion and futility. Still someone else wants to implement a God-given vision that has been simmering for years. Tired of waiting, they will bring their vision to a people not ready to understand it nor recognize its source as God. Mis-judgment will result, bringing pain and rejection.

We must not leave the ark of safety until there is obvious release. God is a gracious Father who will speak clearly and give many confirmations that it’s time to move.

Oh how I’ve learned the hard way. Striving is not your way. If the axe falls at just the right part in the grain of wood, without effort, the wood will split. Show me holy rhythm and timing. Amen.

For more from Christine Wyrtzen and Jaime Wyrtzen Lauze, please visit www.daughtersofpromise.org