If At First You Don't Succeed...


...Try, Try Again!

That's a saying I head a lot as a kid, and it made me think I should try something AT LEAST 3x before giving up.

And do you know what?  Today I found that's a sentiment echoed even in the Bible.

In Genesis we read the story of the man named Noah.  Now at that time "the world was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence and "God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.  So God said to Noah, 'I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of the.  I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.  So make yourself an ark of cypress word; make rooms in it, and coat it with pitch inside and out...You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you.  Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive.  You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.'  Noah did everything just as God commanded him." - Genesis 6:12-14, 19-22

Now there is a place in Williamstown, Kentucky that is home to a "life-size" representation of the Ark.  IT IS MASSIVE...but then I guess with room for 8 people and two of every type of animal plus ones for food, it would have to be - wouldn't it?

And when Noah's family and all of the animals were safely in the ark - the rains started.  And in the end, it rained solidly for forty days and nights, and everything on the earth that was NOT in the ark perished. 

Genesis 7:24 says, "The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days".  And then God sent a wind and the waters receded steadily, and 10 months after Noah and his family entered the ark, the tops of the mountains became visible.  After 40 MORE days Noah sent a raven and it kept flying back and forth.  Then Noah sent a dove, but the dove could find no where to perch because the water still had not receded enough for it to land.  So Noah brought the dove back into the boat, and waited seven MORE days before sending the dove out again.  This time - when the dove returned, it carried with it a freshly plucked olive leaf.

And finally (if I read all of this right) after a year in the ark - Noah and his family were able to go out onto dry ground.  Can you imagine?

  • Can you imagine the doubt Noah felt when God told him to build an ark?
  • Can you imagine the jeers from his neighbors as this massive thing was being constructed?
  • Can you imagine the faith it took to ignore the naysayers and just do it?
  • Can you imagine the sorrow Noah must have felt upon seeing almost everything (save for his family) that he knew and loved, destroyed?
  • Can you imagine how awful a year on an ark with an enormous "zoo" full of animals would be? Or smell?
  • Can you imagine the patience it took to wait for the waters to recede?
  • Can you imagine the hope Noah had each time he sent a bird out - not once, not twice, but three times?
  • And can you imagine the JOY Noah must have felt when at last he was able to open the door of the ark, and walk out into the sunshine?
The story of Noah is one of faith, obedience, and patience.  And it teaches us that if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.


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