Opportunities Are the Real Miracles | My Take on Noah’s Ark
There’s a scene in Evan Almighty in which Evan’s wife, Joan, is sitting in a bar, feeling dejected and miserable because her husband is acting like a weirdo, and God appears. God, as played by Morgan Freeman.
Joan explains that her husband (Evan) is “New York’s Noah.”
God smiles and says, “I love that story. Noah and the ark. You know a lot of people miss the point of that story. They think it’s about God’s wrath and anger. They love it when God gets angry.”
“What is the story about then, the ark?” Joan asks.
“Well, I think it’s a love story about believing in each other. You know, the animals showed up in pairs. They stood by each other, side by side. Just like Noah and his family. Everybody entered the ark side by side.”
“But my husband says God told him to do it. What do you do with that?”
“Sounds like an opportunity,” God nods. “Let me ask you something... if someone prays for patience, do you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If they prayed for courage, does God give them courage or does he give them opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for their family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm, fuzzy feelings? Or does he give them opportunities to love each other?”
I just got God-smacked.
God is all about the opportunities because God is more about your holiness than your happiness.
God could have built the ark. He could’ve just built a hedge of protection over Noah’s family. He could’ve done a multitude of things. God could’ve rounded up all the mammals, reptiles, and birds and put them in the ark. But he had Noah build the ark, and the job taught him faith, obedience, patience, dedication …
God realizes getting what you want is wonderful, but growing to become the person who can achieve what you want, is a miracle.
I know when I really want something when it consumes me and I’m begging, no pleading with God to grant it to me, oftentimes I don’t get “the thing” but an opportunity.
And that is a miracle. God allowed me to become the person He wants, and He trusted me enough to give me the opportunity.
Most of the time, you may discover there’s something more than you could even dream.