Our Example of Perseverance
But God remembered Noah...
GENESIS 8:1
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Our Example of Perseverance
One must take into consideration the state of mind and the indescribable groaning of the heart when, in the very feeling of despair, a spark of faith still remains and overcomes the flesh. Just as Paul complains of the angel of Satan (2 Corinthians 12:7), so we must assume that Noah, too, felt similar barbs in his heart and often reasoned with himself: "You don't suppose that God loves only you this much, do you? You don't suppose, do you, that in the end God will save you, even though there is no limit to the waters and it seems that those immense clouds can never be emptied?" . . . It was no joke or laughing matter for them to live shut up in the ark for so long, to see the endless masses of rain, to be tossed about by the waves, and to drift. In these circumstances there was the feeling that God had forgotten them, as Moses indicates when he states that the Lord at last remembered Noah and his sons. Even though they overcame this feeling through faith, they did not overcome it without great annoyance to the flesh. . .. Let us, then, remember that this story sets before us an example of faith, perseverance, and patience, in order that those who have the divine promise may not only learn to believe it but may also realize that they need perseverance. But perseverance does not come without a great struggle. In the New Testament Christ calls on us to persevere when He says (Matthew 24:13): "He who endures to the end will be saved."
GENESIS 8:1
+
Our Example of Perseverance
One must take into consideration the state of mind and the indescribable groaning of the heart when, in the very feeling of despair, a spark of faith still remains and overcomes the flesh. Just as Paul complains of the angel of Satan (2 Corinthians 12:7), so we must assume that Noah, too, felt similar barbs in his heart and often reasoned with himself: "You don't suppose that God loves only you this much, do you? You don't suppose, do you, that in the end God will save you, even though there is no limit to the waters and it seems that those immense clouds can never be emptied?" . . . It was no joke or laughing matter for them to live shut up in the ark for so long, to see the endless masses of rain, to be tossed about by the waves, and to drift. In these circumstances there was the feeling that God had forgotten them, as Moses indicates when he states that the Lord at last remembered Noah and his sons. Even though they overcame this feeling through faith, they did not overcome it without great annoyance to the flesh. . .. Let us, then, remember that this story sets before us an example of faith, perseverance, and patience, in order that those who have the divine promise may not only learn to believe it but may also realize that they need perseverance. But perseverance does not come without a great struggle. In the New Testament Christ calls on us to persevere when He says (Matthew 24:13): "He who endures to the end will be saved."
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