Weekly Message
DON'T QUIT THE SHIP!
Look! I am going to cover the earth with a flood and destroy every living being--everything in which there is the breath of life, All will die. But I promise to keep you safe in the ship, with your wife and your sons and their wives. (Genesis 6:17,18)
Recently there have been floods in many parts of the Nation which caused people to abandon their homes and seek shelter on higher ground. It is difficult to watch the faces of those individuals who must leave everything they have because of the high water.
In difficult times, many of us have thought about giving up! Perhaps you are deeply in debt and unable to pay your bills. Perhaps your marriage is on the rocks. Perhaps your children are not doing well in school. Problems come without notice and can cause you to think about throwing in the towel. However, my father in-law would say, "give out, but don't give up!"
In the passage above, The Lord reached a point where He was sorry that He made mankind. He decided that He would destroy the inhabitants of the earth (including the animals, birds, etc.). However Noah, found favor in the eyes of the Lord. He gave Noah the assignment to build an Ark so that he and and his family would begin the process of populating the earth again. However it would take 120 years to build the Ark. Noah would need perseverance in order to finish the task. The task would be distasteful at times. The ridicule from the neighbors laughing at him as he worked would be frustrating. He would lose friends and other relatives as well. However in the end, Noah accomplished his assignment by completing the ark and accordingly his family was saved.
Many times we are given assignments by God that are unpleasant to say the least. Sometimes the people that we must work with can cause us problems. Sometimes we don't believe that we have the time to complete the work. But if you remember who gave you the task, you can keep going even when you don't feel like it.
When flood waters come, there is safety in a ship that is built well. I am building my ship right now. Are you building yours? Sometimes I get tired, but I won't quit the ship. When others give you a hard time, don't quit the ship. When one problem after another keeps coming your way, don't quit the ship. Even if you have to stop and rest a while, don't quit the ship. Because one of these days the ship is going to sail. God's voice is going to call out, "All Aboard!" And you will be glad that you "DID NOT QUIT THE SHIP!"
