Essential No. 7: Let God Reboot Your World
The first six essentials we have been looking at, all pertain to what we need when we find ourselves battling a storm. These last four essentials deal with what we need to have after the storm has passed and all that is left is death and destruction.
Noah was a man of destiny who knew his calling. He understood God's favor and grace. He was a man of character who built himself an ark, to save his life and that of his family. And as we saw in the last chapter, he learned how to wait on the Lord that resulted in renewing his strength.
Now, the storm is over, the waters have subsided and all that is left is a world in ruins. Mud was everywhere; nothing but remnants of an old world was left. The only people left to rebuild all that has been lost was Noah and his family.
Where do you begin to rebuild your world after a devastating storm?
Come Out!
A stormproof life is a life that has learned to reboot itself when the storms and challenges of life have done their damage. Noah's ark floated for a year and landed in a place he has never seen or known before. Except for the big boat, his family and the animals, everything he owned and built was gone.
What does one do when that happens?
The answer is found in Genesis 8:15-16 "Then God said to Noah, 'Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives.'" Come out, from what? Come out of your secure place, your familiar place, and your comfort zone. Trust in the reality that the Lord has brought you through a storm, and if he has done that, it could only mean He is able to reboot your world despite all that has been lost.
Get ready for something new, something unfamiliar, something you are not used to. But at the same time be expectant that God's got something good for you. For now, start by coming out.
Bring Out!
The second step to letting God reboot our world is found in Genesis 8:17 "Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you-the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground…"
To see our world rebooted we should not just come out, but bring out what God has preserved in our lives. In the case of Noah, it was his family and the animals God instructed him to bring into the ark. In our case, we should bring out whatever God has preserved in our lives after the tempest has passed.
It often starts with the relationships he has given us to keep and enjoy. These also include our talents and gifting, our character and the habits we have developed as well as our experiences and the lessons we have learned as we have walked with God. Of course, these also include the resources He has given us.
A rebooted world, however, also means the willingness of the Lord to bring out the new and the unexpected, the foreign and the unfamiliar, sometimes even the fearful and the unwanted.
I am reminded of the year 2006. For years I have avoided the reality that the world has gone digital. You see, I came from a very analog era.
By 2006, I realized and accepted the world was not going back to being analog. The winds of change have come and threatened to make those of us who come from the old world obsolete. To stay in that world meant to lose the ability to influence the world for Christ, despite all the years of knowledge and learning.
So at the age of 48, I reluctantly dove in head first to learn the brave new digital world. It was challenging, unwanted, intimidating, frustrating, demanding, at times even discouraging, but I did it anyway.
Interestingly, my experiences in management, manufacturing, marketing, human relations plus many years of reading and studying the Bible came handy, as I brought them forth from my analog world then out into the brave new digital world.
Roll Out!
Noah did not stop by just coming out of the ark. Twice it says that he came out (Gen. 8:18-19) and brought his family and all that he had in the ark. You could say, he did not just come out, bring out but rolled out all that God had for him in the new world after the storm.
Today, as a 60-year old, I manage a fledgling website with thousands of visitors on a daily basis. I have a personal page and public page on Facebook with almost ninety-thousand followers, a Twitter account (of 22K followers), an Instagram account (21K followers). Together with my team, we have managed to get four books published and available online.
I say all this not to brag, but to make a point. We can come out, bring out, but if we don't roll out, meaning give it our best after the storms have changed the world around us, then we have survived the storm, but have not become storm proof.
So stop living in fear, frustration and false freedom, rather face the reality that the storms of change have come and gone. Come out of your comfort zone, bring out the things God has entrusted to you and roll out the new things God has in store for you.
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