With them in the boat were pairs of every kind of animal—domestic and wild-, large and small—along with birds of every kind. Two by two they came into the boat, representing every living thing that breathes. All male and female of each kind entered, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door behind them.  

Genesis 7:14-16 NLT

Take one godly man and His devout family, a humongous boat, all kinds of animals and tons and tons (literally) of rain. What do you have? The story or Noah, of course. People who have never darkened the door of a church or cracked open a Bible could probably tell us that. It might be the most familiar story in Scripture.

In Noah we see a hard-working (scholars estimate it took 50-75 years to build the ark), God-fearing man who raised three godly sons in a wicked and perverse generation. From this, we understand that God rewards obedient faith with His righteousness (Hebrews 11:7).

Then the Lord closed the door behind them. God Himself did what only He could do, and all Noah’s preparation was meaningless to God’s greater purpose until the door was shut. While Scripture doesn’t record the thoughts of Noah, who surely had some structural engineer blood in his veins, he had to wonder how the final step would be accomplished since the Ark’s one door closed inward. Again, Noah’s faith at work.

God’s timing is a heavy mystery, one that we live with every day. Noah had God’s Word, but so do we--1200 pages worth. Even when we work in faithful obedience according to that Word, we won’t always see the final outcome.

That closed door is also serves as a reminder of something else: Our times are in His hands and we are working on His timetable, not our own, according to His plan and by His power. 

Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away (James 4:14).

Nancy Shirah