Noah's hand

Think for a moment of an image of Noah, standing on the ark. He's holding out his hand for the dove. His hand is covered in callouses and is trembling in hope and anticipation as the dove drops an olive branch into it.

Think about Noah. He's been obedient to God, listening to God's very strange call upon his life. He has witnessed rain, torrential downpours and storms, floods that destroyed everything he has ever known except what is held safe in the ark.

The Bible tells how many days it has been, but for Noah, I wonder if the time in the ark seemed like forever. I wonder if there were times when hope seemed dead, along with almost everything else he had known.

I wonder if he has moments of intense and unspeakable gratitude for God's favor that saved him and his family?

What does that calloused hand, reaching for the olive branch tell us about Noah? About his relationship with God? About God Himself?

The hand is open and reaching for the gift of new life. It is not clenched at Noah's side in anger. It is not holding onto something else, unwilling to receive the gift the dove brings. There must be hope in that hand, to reach for the gift.

The first time Noah sent a bird, a raven, the bird returned with nothing. The first trip the dove made had the same negative result, and yet Noah had sent the bird again. Sometimes we must be tenacious as we search for good news.

The hand is calloused. Think of all of the hard work Noah has done --building an ark, gathering and caring for the animals, protecting and nurturing his family. Discipleship is not easy; it is work, and Noah's hand shows it.

Then hand is held out in anticipation and trust. Noah hasn't lost his trust of God, even through all of what has happened.

Our God, Noah's God, is trustworthy. He is honest. He keeps his promises.

May it be that we would listen, trust and obey as Noah did, for our God is the same as his.

Image from Hermanolean Clip Art.