It happened again. Listening to the account of the flood, God told Noah to build an ark. An ark – that’s a really big boat! And it’s going to rain. It had never rained so this was a totally new concept — water falling from the sky. I might have had a few clarifying questions. Not Noah.

²²So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.

Genesis 6:22

⁵So Noah did everything as the Lord commanded him.

⁹They entered the boat in pairs, male and female, just as God had commanded Noah.

Genesis 7:5, 9

Curiosity drove me to do a little digging. I find myself a bit more hesitant than Noah. It seems I ask more questions. Complete obedience — what would it take?

It didn’t really take long to find Noah’s secret as I looked again at the whole of chapter 6. Noah’s strategy was right there in plain sight. What enabled Noah to respond with complete obedience?

Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.

Genesis 6:9

There it is. The answer to my query. Noah’s ability to do just as the Lord commanded sprang from a lifestyle of fellowship with God. He didn’t try hard, he just regularly spent time with God. I bet he made smaller deposits of obedience every day, so when God asked this one thing of him — build a really big boat — he made a large withdrawal from an already established relationship.

I am reminded that every small step of obedience, every moment spent in fellowship is a deposit enabling me to do just as the Lord commands without hesitation. It doesn’t seem like much at the time, but it yields great reward!

How about you? Is your account growing or dwindling? What enables you to say YES! to the commands of God without reservation? Willingly and completely?