150 days

When God takes His time- Lessons from Noah's Ark

One evening, as I was nonchalantly turning the pages of my Bible, I stumbled upon the story of Noah. It’s a story I’ve read through thousands of times, dating back to my Sunday school days. The flood, the animals, the ark. A story easy to bring to life in coloring books: two animals of each species, neatly paired, walking toward a man-made ark. I used to imagine it as a grand mass marriage scene- Mr. and Mrs. Elephant on their way to happily ever after.

But my grown-up mind now lingers on different details.

Like the creepy crawlies. The scary-looking creatures. Scorpions and lizards. Millipedes and snakes.
Why did they make it onto the ark too?
My skin would’ve crawled from the inside out if I’d been in there with them.
But I digress.

My thoughts specifically lingered on a verse:

Genesis 7:24 –
“The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.”

150 days??

I can already imagine the chaos.

One hundred and fifty days of suspense, of claustrophobic waiting, of questions and quiet despair.
The arguments that burst out of frustration.
The tears that fell silently.
The restless animals pacing in the dark, longing to see the sun again-to breathe in crisp, clean air.

And the mess, oh, the mess!!
Can you imagine cleaning up after cows, elephants, buffalos, rhinos, hippos, giraffes?
If i were in the Ark, my thoughts would be a resouding question “God, When is this going to end?”

But for 150 days… God did not rush the process.

He could have dried the waters in an instant.
He could have commanded the clouds to retreat and the seas to shrink.
But He didn’t.

And that makes me often wonder why does He take His time?

It’s a question I’ve wrestled with, especially when I’ve been in my own storms.
When the waiting has stretched longer than I thought I could bear.
The times that the storm has left me in endless tears, desperately wanting to escape.
The many times I have asked, “God, when will this end?”

I still wrestle with the questions, but my heart has slowly gathering a resolve.

Perhaps it is in the waiting that we are truly refined.
God trusted Noah’s obedience more than his comfort.
Noah’s faith was stretched beyond his wildest thoughts.

In that ark, Noah learned more than obedience.
He learned patience.
He learned to manage chaos.
He learned grace, mercy and perseverance.
He grew a deep sense of trust.

Noah learned to believe in what God said, even when his eyes told him nothing had changed.

Noah learned that timing belongs to God, not man and that waiting is sacred when it’s God’s plan.

Noah learned that God’s Judgment is just but never without warning. His Judgement comes after extending Grace. It is not His will to see man perish.

Noah learned that obedience isn’t just about the big yes- it’s about daily faithfulness in the uncertainty, the discomfort and in the waiting.

He learned that restoration takes time.
That God does not rush the process.
That God is patient enough to grow us in patience.

And in the end, Noah finally established that:

God keeps His word .

He forever remains faithful.

Lessons he would not otherwise learn in comfort.