Do you know what the longest week in the Bible was?

I bet you’re guessing it’s the week of creation. (Nope.)

The longest week in the Bible only takes up the length of one Bible verse but it’s a doozy.

“One week later, the flood came and covered the earth.” (Genesis 7:10 NLT)

Now, keep in mind that this verse comes after Noah has already:

• Received God’s command to build the Ark
• Located all the supplies to build the Ark
• Built the Ark
• Witnessed God usher in two of every type of animal into the Ark
• Gathered his family into the Ark
• Shut the door to the Ark

All of this has already taken years. I can only imagine how hard it had already been for Noah to press on in those tasks with the realization that a) his neighbors and friends probably thought he’d lost it and b) he may never see his neighbors or friends again once you complete this task. No matter how many years it took Noah to build that Ark, I’m sure it felt like much, much longer.

And then, after all that, Noah shut the door to the ark and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Can you imagine how long each of those 10080 minutes felt to Noah and his family? Sitting in this massive boat weighed down by massive uncertainty and grief. When is this rain coming?! Did I misunderstand God?! What will our lives look like after this is all over?? 

It had to have felt like the longest week of his life.

At least, that’s what those kinds of weeks feel like for me – those weeks where I’ve done all I can do and all that’s left is to wait on God’s will.

• The week of waiting to hear about a job.
• The week of waiting for my due date to arrive.
• The week of my dear friend’s hospice journey.

How do we do get through weeks like this in a way that honors God?

We stay in the boat.

We continue to believe that God knows best and we continue forward with faith that his will is already happening even when it just feels like waiting. We learn to get comfortable with the “silence” because God reminds us in Psalm 46:10 that it is good to simply be still and know that he is God. We wait and believe that the rain WILL come – because he doesn’t break his word – and that his rain is always for our good.

Prayer: Dear Lord, sometimes my minutes, days and weeks drag on and I don’t know what to do with myself. I get agitated and anxious in the waiting. Please help me to remember Noah and focus on just staying in the boat – believing you are good and that you are already working in my life even when I don’t see it or feel it. Thank you for being patient with me even when I’m not patient with you. Amen.

Photo by Alberto Barbarisi on Unsplash