God Floats My Boat!


     In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."
     We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat.  And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

One of the practical struggles in the life of a Christian is the relationship between WORK and GRACE. We are told that our salvation comes by Grace and not by works so that we cannot boast. And yet we are given the monumental task of going into the entire world and preaching the Gospel to everyone.

Consider Noah. He was called by God to build an ark big enough to house every animal species on earth. If Noah had disobeyed God and refused to build the Ark you would not be reading these words. That would have been the end of mankind. So was it Noah’s work in building the Ark that saved us all from extinction, or was it God’s Grace that saved Noah and his family from the flood? Of course it was God’s Grace. If Noah had had a friend who decided he too would build an Ark like Noah’s so that he and his family could be saved what would have happened? By God’s Grace only Noah’s boat would float! Anything else that might have been used by other men in an attempt to ride out the flood failed. They all drowned. There must have been many who worked very hard at staying alive in the flood. None of their efforts worked.

Today we are all tempted to work to save ourselves from the destruction that is coming on the earth. Even as it was in the time of Noah the only salvation from the flood is found in the Ark of God! Anything you or I build in an attempt to save ourselves will not work. The only way to be saved is to be in the boat with Jesus.

So can I relax since my work will not save me? Oh my no! “Relax Noah; God is going to save you from the flood!” There are some today who say to me; “Relax; God is going to save you so there is nothing you can do about it.” I think not. Like Noah I must trust God’s leading to be the right way to go even if it means building an Ark far away from the water. But I must also work like Noah who spent years and years building the world’s greatest “Do it Yourself” project.

The truth in a nutshell is this: I BUILD MY BOAT AND GOD FLOATS MY BOAT!