October 3
Verse of the Day for October 3
And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;Genesis 8:10 KJV
The Key of Endurance · Day 3 of 31
Reflection · 3 min read
The Man Who Kept Opening The Window
The flood is over. That is the part we remember. What we forget is that Noah has no way of knowing it is over, and no way to find out except to open a window and let a bird go.
The raven does not come back. The dove does, because there is nowhere yet to land. So he waits.
And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;
Seven days. He does not send the dove again the next morning, which is what I would have done, and probably what you would have done. He waits a full week inside a dark boat with the animals and does nothing, and then he tries again.
The second time the dove comes back with a leaf. The third time it does not come back at all, which is the real answer — the bird has found somewhere to live.
Three attempts, two weeks of silence in between, and no guarantee at any point that the next attempt would be different from the last.
He waited seven days,and sent the dove again.
Faithfulness in a waiting season is rarely dramatic. It is usually the willingness to try again on a schedule that nothing external is rewarding yet.
The window opened three times. Only the third one meant anything, and he could not have known that on the first.
Carry this today
What have you given up trying because it came back empty?
Pray
Read Genesis 8:6–12
6And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: 7And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. 8Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; 9But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark. 10And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; 11And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. 12And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.
Keep praying
Reflection by Collins Asein, from the daily devotionals in the PrayerKey app. Bible text: King James Version.