Some Assembly RequiredSample

So, now that we are fully aware of God's mandate to build this boat of safety for our families, how do we do it?

HOW DO I BUILD A BOAT?

1. Get close to the Holy Spirit. Somehow God made it plain to Noah: the situation is dire, everything and everyone is about to be destroyed, but you will be spared. You AND your family. God spoke to the leader(s) of the household. The safety of each of their lives was dependent upon Noah hearing from God. Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma, Foster Parent—have you considered lately how eternity could be weighing in the balance for your child, grandchild, or foster child based on your ability to hear from God? To recognize the dire conditions of this world and spring into action by faith? Hearing from God by way of His precious Holy Spirit is the imperative, crucial key to your faith-guided next steps.

How do I do that, Bridgette? You get to know someone by spending more time with them. I look back on the year 2020 as being a marker in the trajectory of the relationships I now truly treasure with our teenaged daughters. Why? Because we spent an abundance of time together. And not just wasted, useless time where all of us were on our individual devices, or mindlessly staring at a screen while sitting in the same room. Make no mistake, we watched a little more TV together than was our previous normal! But we also took day trips to places in Oklahoma we had yet to visit. We sat outside on our patio and ate an increased number of meals alfresco together. We had intentional sessions of discipleship in our living room and taught our girls how to pray for more than a few minutes. We grew to know and like and love each other in a deepened way because we did day-to-day life together in an increased way.

...walk with the Spirit in your day-to-day activities

Am I encouraging you to spend more time with the Holy Spirit in prayer? Absolutely. But even more so, I’m challenging you to walk with the Spirit in your day-to-day activities. Check in with Him before you do anything, or before you do nothing. Paul wrote in Galatians 5:25, “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” (NLT) Your daily routine should be guided by the Holy Spirit so that YOU can remain in His safekeeping. And as you remain safe, guided by the Holy Spirit, those you are leading will also remain safe. You’re following His lead. They’re following yours. And there’s safety in that—both in the natural, and in the supernatural.

2. Get physical. Noah had to get up that first day after he heard from God and start moving in the direction of obedience. It got practical very quickly. He didn’t say to his sons, “Y’all, I’ve heard from God that we will be saved if we are in a giant boat,” and then *poof*, surprise, there appeared a boat before them. He didn’t say to his wife, “God told me to build a boat. I need you to craft a design and then follow back up with me.” Noah did not rally his family together and enlighten them with a “God said it. I believe it. So, how would you all go about this project?” No, our friend Noah led the way. And he came up with the plan under God’s supervision, a plan that included specific supplies, which had to be gathered or purchased, a certain amount of manpower, and a required inconvenient stall on all his own preferences and selfish endeavors.

Procuring the eternal results you and I are after is initiated by a sacrificial payment that you and I could never afford: the payment of Christ’s life on a cross. Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb, laid down His life so that you and I could accept the gift of eternal life. But that’s just the beginning.

SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED.

The day Chresten and I found the table in the furniture store, we paid for the table’s monetary cost in the store. But once we got it home, there was a cost we were somewhat ill-equipped to pay, which was the inconvenience of our time and energy, and our obvious dependence upon the instructions that came with the brown boxes that held all the pieces. But if we hadn’t been willing to do the work, the price we had paid would have been worthless.

You and I are responsible for the hands-on elements of this boat-building assignment. We are the grunt laborers. We must be willing to pay the price for the manifestation, the fulfillment, of things not seen, but hoped for. Not reactive, proactive.

Dig a Little Deeper

What can you do today, practically speaking, to listen more intently to the voice of the Holy Spirit, implement His Word into your daily activities, and put some feet to your faith-filled declaration that you're at the helm of your family's divine assembly line?