“5. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

Noah was a man who lived in a very wicked world. Remember how God described it in Genesis. “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Because of this great wickedness, God planned to destroy it all. “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:8). In spite of the wickedness of man, God spared Noah.

God then instructed Noah to build an ark to save him and his household (and many animals). This was a very strange request that God made of Noah. It had never rained. Noah could not possibly have understood the devastation of a flood. Yet he chose to obey God. Because of this, all of the world throughout the generations has heard of Noah’s Ark. See how this movement upon Noah is recorded for us to understand in Hebrews. “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith” (Hebrews 11:7). Noah had to believe, without seeing, and act upon that belief. Noah had faith. What is faith? “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Noah had a “hope” of something that he had not seen before. Noah believed God’s Word. He believed that God was going to destroy the world by a flood. However, he also believed God would save him from death by that flood, if he obeyed God. (See that he was “moved with fear.”)

How was he able to come to that decision? “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Noah had faith. It was then that he acted upon God’s Word and “prepared an ark to the saving of his house.” Noah believed God would do just what He said He would do. Moreover, God did!

Faith is imperative to one’s trust in Jesus, and each of the people listed in Hebrews chapter eleven had that faith. “2. For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (Hebrews 11:2-3). The people listed in Hebrews chapter eleven all believed God’s promise that He made to Adam and Eve in the garden, that He would send Jesus. They trusted God. Because of their faith, they were a “good report” for us to see as great examples. They should be our heroes in the faith.

Just as Noah could not possibly have understood what God was going to do, there are many things that we cannot fully understand what God will do. Because we are humans, we cannot comprehend the things of God. Christians may not understand the things of God, but we are to have faith in Him. It is then that we must learn to trust Him with all of our hearts. “5. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). God expects Christians to follow His Word. Christians must have faith. When they disobey God and His Word, they reveal that they do not trust God’s Word but are leaning on their own understanding. We must learn to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not unto our own understanding.

Is there a part of your life in which you have not yet trusted God?