December 5 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Genesis 8:6–12

Devotional

God gives tokens of His favor. He can do that through little things, even by means of an olive leaf in a dove’s beak. The olive leaf was for Noah a sign that the Lord had not forgotten him and his family. It was the evidence that God’s promises would stand. This is comforting to those who are waiting for the Lord. And what an encouragement this is for those who are wrestling to receive His grace! Are you one of these people? Do you understand something of this life of waiting for the Lord? How will God’s comfort profit you if you have no room for it? With deep respect for God, we can say that He does not waste the tokens of His grace. If there is no room in your life for God, what will you do with His comforts? You will not wait for them. Neither do you desire them. But evening is coming and you cannot enter the night without God’s comforts, and you surely cannot enter the eternal night without His favor.

God’s people know of these tokens of God’s grace. They still need them, for what will they do if the signs of God’s grace cease? In this life one never transcends this waiting for the Lord. Is this not how the Lord deals with His people? If Noah needed to wait on the Lord for deliverance, can you then live without this necessary waiting?

God delivers from trouble according to His timing. He does not deliver from every need and there are also prayers that are not answered. God’s child can also look out of his window for deliverance from painful matters. At times these painful burdens can remain, but then the Lord will cause all things to work together for his salvation.

But often, it is God’s pleasure to deliver. Be then of good courage, even if evening has come. Do not close your window yet. The God of Noah is still the same God. He still has His trees, leaves, and doves. Do not desire great things but be humble. The Lord said to the Canaanite woman, “O woman, great is thy faith” (Matt. 15:28). Why was her faith so great? Because she expected so much of something so little, even of a crumb that had fallen off the table. She experienced that the Lord exalts Himself in little things. And the crumbs still fall off the table in God’s timing. The Lord, however, lets them fall before the night comes.

 

From The Everlasting Word by Frans Bakker, compiled and translated by Gerald R. Procee. Reformation Heritage Books and Free Reformed Publications, 2007. Used by permission. For further information, click here.