Wheaties - the Breakfast of Champions… not Change

A Series on Living by Faith

Genesis 6:9-22; Hebrews 11:7
(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%206%3A9-22%2CHebrews%2011%3A7&version=NIV;NLT

 [Hebrews 11 is a recounting of the Heroes of the Faith. Even though they never saw what they had been promised, each person is commended for living “by faith”. At the end of these commendations, Hebrews 12 tells us, “Therefore, because you are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses… throw off sin; run with perseverance; fix your eyes on Jesus”. In other words, live “by faith”.]

  

I don’t like change. And in my opinion, there is something very positive to be said for routine.

 

Take my morning routine for instance. My alarm goes off at 6:15; I take my temperature (thank you COVID); shave, shower and get dressed while watching the news; work on my devotional/blog; eat a bowl of Wheaties (the same breakfast for over 50 years); and drive to work.

 

Yes, routine is definitely a part of my daily life. It helps me to get everything done efficiently without having to think about it. If something does happen to throw off my routine, such as our kitty throwing up, I’m playing catch up the rest of the morning. I absolutely don’t like change.

 

I’m guessing that Noah had a routine to his life. In scripture, he is referred to as “a man of the soil” … a farmer. And as a farmer, Noah must have had a routine that depended on the seasons. Plus, Noah raised three sons, and routine is something you always strive for in a family.

 

But the Lord had a plan that would mean drastically disrupting Noah’s daily routine; it would mean a change of quantum magnitude. Because the earth was “full of violence” and the people had “corrupted their ways”, the Lord stepped into Noah’s life, turning it upside down.

 

¹⁷ I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. ¹⁸ But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.        NIV

 

Not only was Noah enlisted to build the ark, but to live there. How did he respond to this colossal change; this great unknown task and event?

 

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

Just imagine what a step of faith it was for Noah to be so obedient. Scripture tells us that “people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark”. Nobody had a clue, including Noah, what the ark would really mean for them. But Noah listened and obeyed.

 

How do you respond to change? Do you stop, look and listen for the Lord; or do you panic? Is the Lord asking you to make a change in your life? Or to keep eating Wheaties – the Breakfast of Champions?