Have Thine Own Way, Lord
“8 But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. 2 Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. 3 The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, 4 and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5 The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.
13 By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. 14 By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry.
15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. 17 Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it.”
18 So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives.”
When God created the first humans, He expressed His perfect joy, declaring His creation "very good." However, humanity’s fall and the resulting chaos brought sorrow and grief to God. Because of this, God decided to cleanse and renew the world through the great flood, opening a new chapter of salvation through Noah and his family.
Noah became the instrument of this saving work, demonstrating a faith marked by complete obedience and patience. Even when he could not see what lay ahead, he listened to God’s voice, acting contrary to the ways of the world by following God’s will. His obedience in these unseen circumstances reveals the nature of true faith. Particularly, Noah’s patience in waiting to leave the ark until God instructed him to do so shows us a faith that seeks and discerns God’s will with trust and patience.
Today, we too need to adopt a posture of following the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This guidance may sometimes feel mysterious, but we can discern the Spirit’s way through God’s Word and the fruits of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, and so forth—that reveal a life of faith. This requires a discerning heart grounded in deep trust and fellowship with God. What is important for us is a confidence in Him and a readiness to obey; within this posture, we can seek and practice His will, living a life of genuine faith.
May this morning’s prayer time be a moment to trust God and commune with Him, beyond merely seeking His guidance.
Prayer: Have Thine own way, Lord. With joy and trust, we lift this song, marveling at the beauty and glory of Your purposes. While we seek Your will, let us first seek You more deeply. Lord, lead us by Your Spirit so that we may discern the paths of faith we are meant to walk in trust throughout our lives. Give us the strength to live today by the power of the Holy Spirit, by granting us the fruits of the Spirit from the depths of our hearts.
(Note: This summary was created based on an AI draft.)
Devotional content is available on the Our Daily Bread website.