Structural Fatigue

In Genesis 6: 9-2 2, God supplies Noah every detail of the ark, i.e. how high, how wide, (300 cubits by 50 cubits by 30 cubits), even what kind of wood to use. He is given a pretty comprehensive blueprint. Yet two details are conspicuously absent. There is nothing in the specs about a sail or a rudder! Noah is asked to trust that God would provide the propulsion and the steering, when and as required. Talk about launching out, in faith.

I once took the night ferry from North Sydney to Port aux Basques. That night we got caught in the boundary between a high-pressure weather system from the north west and a low-pressure system from the south east. This clash of the forces of nature created what is technically known as a “confused sea state”, where the waves pound in from all directions, at random heights and irregular intervals, it is a profoundly challenging environment and can cause structural fatigue in the vessel.

Some of the fellows on board, who were lifelong fishermen, were seasick that night. All we could do was to hang on, have faith in the skill of the naval architect, who had designed the vessel, and hope that we would get through what was a truly sickening situation.

In our personal lives and in the life of the Church we can find ourselves in a “confused spiritual state” where powerful forces, beyond our control, have us pitching and rolling and threatening our equilibrium. Structural fatigue seems to be an immanent possibility.

At one level, Noah, on his voyage, was at the mercy of the elemental forces. I’m sure he experienced a “confused sea state”, or two, but he was also the beneficiary of a larger mercy that functioned at a higher orbit. God did provide the momentum and steering that landed Noah on firm ground, at Mount Ararat, he just needed to have faith in the providence of God even as he, like my fishermen friends, was throwing up over the gunwale.

Hebrews 11:7. tells us that because of his perseverance, “Noah …became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” We need to pray for the gift of that perseverance.

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