Mission Impossible

Genesis 6:22

The story of Noah and the ark is well known by both believers and non-believers alike. However, quite often when we speak of Noah, we minimize what he did to merely building the ark. Noah's commission deserves far more credit, and in my opinion is truly one of the most extraordinary accomplishments recorded in and out of scripture. Here is a list of the accounts as recorded in Genesis 6. First, starting in verse 14, God commands Noah to build an ark that was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. Now, I don't know if you have ever done the math on that, but 450 feet times 75 feet times 45 feet produces 1,518,750 cubic feet of storage space. That was an enormous undertaking for Noah and his sons, regardless of how long it took them to build it. They didn't just build a giant structure; they built a giant sea worthy vessel. The ark not only had to float, but remain balanced in stormy waters as well; always remaining upright despite the shifting of all the supplies and animals that were aboard. Next, starting in verse 19, God told Noah to gather all the living creatures and bring them into the ark. Now, in verse 20 it says two of every kind, and that’s the story we all remember; Noah brought all the animals into the ark two by two. But when we go to 7:2 we read that Noah had to gather 7 pair of each clean animal, and 1 pair of each unclean animal. Plus seven pairs of each kind of bird. The number of animals and birds that needed to be gathered, segregated, and safely placed aboard the ark must have been unfathomable. Lastly, starting in verse 21, God commanded Noah to gather and store enough food for all the animals, his family, and himself. Besides building the ark, and gathering all the animals, Noah had to collect the food as well. This wasn't like our monthly trips to Costco. Noah wasn't just stocking the refrigerator or filling up the cupboards; he was gathering and storing enough food to sustain the animals, his family, and himself for more than a year. All together it was an unfeasible undertaking, especially for the time. Are you beginning to see how enormous this task was? Are you beginning to see how some would even call it impossible? Now, here's your power thought for the week. Correction, this is a power thought for life. Chapter 6:22 reads, "Noah did everything just as the Lord commanded him." That’s it, "Noah did everything just as the Lord commanded him." Noah made the impossible possible because God asked him to do so. No excuses and no running, just a desire to submit to the will of God. When Moses was told to speak to Pharaoh, he made excuses. When Jonah was told to preach to the Ninevites, he made a straight line for Tarshish. But when Noah was given an impossible task he made a 1,518,750 cubic foot ark. It was "mission impossible" made possible by a man who had an extraordinary desire to do all that the Lord had commanded of him. Now, we have become masters at convincing ourselves, and others, about the things we cannot do. And if not forced, we most often refuse to venture beyond the self-imposed limits of our comfort zone. We tell ourselves, I cannot forgive Him, or I cannot share the gospel with her; though God is continually calling us to do so. We say I cannot spare my time, and I cannot give my money; though God is laying it upon our hearts daily. I cannot do this, and I cannot do that, and the list goes on and on and on. Every day God is calling us to do what we swear to ourselves is impossible. But nothing, and again I say nothing, which God asks of us is impossible; everything is within our ability to accomplish. That is, if we approach it with the desire of Noah, a desire to do everything just as the Lord commands of us. Not my will, but "THY will be done (Matthew 6:10)." Remember this; it wasn't faith alone that built the Ark. Nor was it super-human strength. It was an extra-ordinary desire to do the will OF God and the impossible FOR God. Moses said he couldn't, Jonah said he wouldn't, but Noah said 'thy will be done.' What will you say when God asks you to do the "impossible?"   [mp]

Copyright © 2005
Michael D'Urbano
All rights reserved
www.modernpapyrus.org