“The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in.” Genesis 7:16
After Noah built the ark, God brought pairs of all the animals to him. These animals were loaded onto the boat and God shut him in. The eight people and all the animals on board were going to become the only ones to survive the flood. God was going to destroy everyone and everything else on the earth, but He shut Noah and his family in.
Noah had done what God asked him to do. It was not an easy, nor a quick job to do. It took him about one hundred years to complete the task. Just the time it took to build the ark is a good point in itself. When God calls you to a task, it does not mean it will happen quickly. It may take a long time to complete it, but God gives you the ability and the strength.
At the end of the task, however, God had shut Noah in the boat. God was protecting Noah from the destruction that was coming.
Often people feel alone when they are doing something that God wants them to do. Think about how alone Noah must have felt, knowing the rest of the world was going to be killed off. Yet, He was not alone. Noah was shut in with God. He was in God’s presence because He had done God’s will.
In your life, God will call you to do a job He has for you to do. When you are doing that job, or at the end of doing it, God will often close you in and protect you. He has His hand upon you because you have done His will. You are shut in with His presence.
Rest in God’s presence when you have done His will. The chaos and destruction going on in this world will not harm you, when you are with God. You may feel the physical pain of it, as Noah most likely did, but it will not destroy you or remove you from God’s presence.
Allow yourself to be shut in alone with God today. See what God can do in and through you.
I pray today that you will know God’s presence in your life; that you will do what God wants done; that you will not fear the destruction around you; and that God’s presence will give you the needed peace and strength for each day.
Beautiful Tom, especially that part about being shut in with God. How necessary that is. And like Noah, we’re shut in the ark riding this life’s storms. I like the way you’re doing the Scriptures this time. Good stuff!
Thank you. Only by His Holy Spirit can I do this.
Thank you for this post. It was edifying to the spirit! With those who may be ‘shut in’ perhaps due to health complications auch as perhaps not being able to walk, or see, or hear, reminding ourselves of what you wrote about…. that God allows us to be ‘shut in’ through our trials to be closest and safest to HIM and Jesus in this way… then it is such an encouraging reminder and helps to keep our minds focused on GODLINESS and rejoicing in though we are outwardly wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed by the spiritual manna our dearest Heavenly Father of mercy sends us daily ! God bless you.
Thank you for your comment. That is good to look at other types of being shut in. Blessings!