Origins: The Beginning (Genesis 1–11)Sample

By Danny Saavedra

“And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.” Genesis 7:5 (NIV)

Over the last few years I’ve discovered something that really surprised me: people, even the scientific/psychological community, really recoil at the concept of obedience. I started seeing articles popping up about how obedience is not a healthy thing to expect, that it’s detrimental to children, and that it’s dangerous. 

In today’s verse, we see that “Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.” Now let’s examine what the Lord commanded Noah to do. At 600 years old, this righteous man was commanded to build a truly gigantic boat roughly the length of a football field and the height of a five-story building. Why? Because it was going to rain for 40 days and 40 nights. Noah had never experienced rain, so how hard must it have been for him to comprehend what was about to happen? And, he was commanded to fill it to capacity with every kind of land animal, bird, and creepy crawly. 

What God told Noah to do here takes “crazy” to a level I never thought possible. Why? Because it sounds so bonkers! But guess what? “Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.” Why? Because God commanded him. 

You see, I don’t think there is anything wrong with seeking to understand why God wants to do something in and through you: why He has allowed something to happen, why He has brought you into the season He has. Abraham did, Moses did, David did, Peter did. Seeking to understand God’s will and His plans and purposes is not wrong, but whether or not we understand it, if God commands it, we obey.

Why? Because He’s God! If we believe He is the Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, the Savior of the world, and that His Word and promises are true, then we should have no hesitance to obey: even if we don’t understand or want to do what He’s commanded, even if it disrupts our lives, takes us out of our comfort zone, or causes us to shake up how we think and what we feel about a certain something. God’s will for Christ was to go to the cross to save us, and while Jesus asked for the cup to pass, He was obedient to His Father and gave His life for us. If we trust God, we must trust that what He is commanding or the season He is calling us into is for our good and His glory. We must obey regardless of how we feel or what we want to do. 

DIG: What does obedience mean to you? How do you feel about it?

DISCOVER: Why do so many recoil and rail against the idea of obedience?

DO: Is there an area of disobedience in your life today? Surrender it to the Lord and do as He commands.