O my soul,

Did you think by now things would have changed? That the God of all power and knowledge of every last detail about you and your situation, and being deeply invested in both, would have acted? And has he still not? Even after all this time?

We considered this quite recently.

Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.

― Psalm 37:5

In the silence and in the inaction you must continue to trust in him. You must! And even as you wait on him, believing and not doubting, know that he is doing a mighty work of transformation in you, building love and holiness and faith⸺so much faith!

And yet, the longing does not go away, does it?⸺longing for deliverance, for mercy, and for judgment on that which dishonours the Lord. Because there is plenty that dishonours his Holy Name, and it is close at hand.

So let’s now discover another reason for the waiting, for the delay, for the apparent inaction. And may our discovery be faith-building, as we marvel once again at the goodness and mercy of God.

For if you long for God to act with mighty power to deal with all that you face and all that is faced by this broken world, do be careful what you wish for!

The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”

― Genesis 6:5-7

Do you think that the Lord doesn’t feel similarly about today’s world and today’s evil?

Recall what he had done.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

― Genesis 1:26-27

Humankind had been created in God’s own image with such capacity for love, for goodness, for kindness, and for holiness. But in his infinite wisdom and out of love God had not created automata, programmed simply to follow the Maker’s desired path. For love is defined by the ability to choose to love, goodness and kindness by the ability to choose them, and holiness too. And with that ability to choose comes the ability to choose not.

What a risk God had taken in creating such beings. And now he regretted that he had made humankind on the earth and it grieved him to his heart. Tremble at his intent to deal with the wickedness.

So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”

― Genesis 6:7

And yet at the same time be grateful that there was one who stayed his hand, that there was a but.

But Noah found favour in the eyes of the LORD.

These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.

― Genesis 6:8-9

One righteous man was the reason that God did not blot out humankind from the face of the earth. Isn’t it almost unfathomable that a single human life lived with holiness and in honour of the Lord could have had such a profound impact upon the whole human race? O my soul, do not underestimate the value of living a God-honouring life of personal holiness.

But why are we even here considering Noah in the context of our opening question? Simply because of what the Apostle Peter wrote, and what he wrote is profound. He wrote first and foremost about facing trials and suffering and evil in the world, and he was clearly familiar with waiting and hoping and longing for deliverance.

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

― 1 Peter 3:8-9

He continues by quoting Psalm 34.

For

“Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

― 1 Peter 3:10-12

O my soul, in your place of hoping and longing and waiting, immerse yourself in Psalm 34, and know that the Lord’s ears are open to your prayer.

I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

― Psalm 34:1

I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

― Psalm 34:4

Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.

― Psalm 34:5

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

― Psalm 34:18

The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

― Psalm 34:22

But we must move on to Peter’s point about Noah.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.

― 1 Peter 3:18-20

Do you see? God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared. It is not inaction at all that we see from the Lord, but rather patience. And why is he patient?

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

― 2 Peter 3:9

And there we have it. The Lord’s strong desire is that none should perish but that all should reach repentance. And so he holds back, as he himself is waiting, is longing, is hoping.

O my soul, be patient yourself, trust the Lord, and keep waiting and longing and hoping! 🙏