Psalm 25:1-10, Genesis 9:8–17, 1 Peter 3:18–22, Mark 1:9–15 (read online ⧉)
Trusting God, and placing your trust in God, is a major theme of Scripture. Trusting of God is not always obvious in what we read. Scripture doesn’t tell us much about the time between God’s call on Noah (build the ark), and the moment Noah stepped foot on the ark with the rain falling. Noah may not have been the only believer in God, but God had singled him out beyond all others. What does Noah get for being singled out? A 100-year building project.
Many people have a long term project sitting around. Sometimes it is a car sitting in the garage that has been worked on (or not) over the years, and perhaps even been moved when moving houses. It could be that project house that never quite finishes. Imagine Noah’s wife and this project. Her patience, along with Noah’s, must have been tried many times over the years with this building project. Noah’s trust in God would have had to carry him, and probably his entire family, through this building project.
Peter talks about the patience of God during the 100 years of building and the time during the flood. Yet it isn’t just God’s patience, but Noah’s trust as well. Noah’s trust lasted a long time. Peter’s point is that when we are baptized, we are trusting that through putting our faith in Jesus, we will be Heaven with him one day, and that he saves us not just at that point in time, but continually. Jesus himself shows his trust in God as the story in Mark shows. After his baptism, Jesus trusts God in the desert by relying on God for sustenance.
1) If we look at these 3 people—Noah, Peter, Jesus—in the bible, we can question our trust. Do we trust God as much as they did?
2) When have you found yourself not trusting God? What were you putting your trust in at that time?
3) Have you ever experienced a time that you trusted God, and were called crazy or immature for trusting God?