When you’re at a party or hosting one, if you are like me, you will hang out with your friends. You might greet other people when you go. And you may even exchange pleasantries but you’ll spend the lion’s share of your time with your friends. This tendency doesn’t change with age. We are so predictable!
God has a way
Naturally, there are people that you like to be around. I have a special aunt who, when you’re in her company, makes you feel like you are the center of her world. She has gone through unimaginable pain in recent years, but still finds a way to give others joy. She’s the kind of guest you want to invite anywhere.
God has a way of putting people in your life, like guests at a party, who will bring His comfort when the rest of the guests bring you down.
It’s very important to choose those who speak into your life with intention.
The world had gone crazy
Noah was born into a family eager to welcome comfort (the name “Noah” means “rest” or “comfort”). The world had gone crazy (sound familiar?). People no longer cared about God and were uninterested in anything He had to say. Noah’s parents looked forward to raising him, as raising a child would give them purpose in the middle of their hopeless surroundings. They chose to name him well; he was meant to comfort them.
Noah’s destiny meant comfort for his parents and survival for the world.
Noah’s destiny, while invisible to his parents at his birth, followed him from birth to the ark and beyond.
Comfort means the easing or alleviation of a person’s feelings of grief or distress. Noah accomplished this at his birth; his parents were comforted. But how he brought comfort went far beyond his birth. Noah’s destiny was meant to bring comfort to the world (see Genesis chapters 6 and 7).
Carrying the lion’s share
I imagine it was difficult for Noah at that moment to stand up to the ridicule he faced while building the ark. He must have had naysayers upon naysayers. But he didn’t allow them into his party. He kept on building the ark. He carried the lion’s share of ridicule for the sake of obeying God.
When the time came, Noah and his family were found in the ark. They were safe from the destruction that came to the earth.
Wildebeest, pangolins, macaws, and penguins
In much the same way that Noah was saved by entering the ark with his invited guests and family, we can enter into our safety (an ark, if you will) by watching the door of who (and what) enters into our lives. Noah’s list was a bit bizarre: wildebeest, pangolins, macaws, pigeons, and more. Nevertheless, those bizarre guests were the ones who sustained him, gave him purpose, and comforted him throughout the long process that his family and he endured during and after the floods.
Who do you spend the lion’s share of your time with?
Who do you invite to your life’s party? And who do you spend the lion’s share of your time with? The ones we choose to spend time with will either pull us up or push us down.
There’s only One Who won’t ever pull us down in the ark of life. God is looking to be invited to your party and spend time with you. Won’t you welcome Him?
Click the link below to watch a video conversation with my aunt. You’ll love her and love what she has to say!
