Shut in

Then the Lord shut him in. – Genesis 7:16b

Noah has just done everything God instructed. he built an ark to exact specs, welcomed animals as they came, got his family, and made things ready. He did everything except shut himself in. God did that.

Why? Why not let Noah do it? How did God do it? Did Noah just notice that the door was closed and figured someone else did it? Probably doesn’t matter. He was shut in. God shut him in. By my calculations he was in the ark more than 200 days. We was shut off from his former life. Maybe he even felt shut off from God.

Sometimes I feel like God shuts me in. I find myself in places where I don’t want to be and did not choose on my own. But God has a different plan. Maybe a better plan. Maybe better than my own. Perhaps he uses the time to form me and change things about me.

This week I am shut in New Orleans with 40 Crashers from exchange. God has placed me here for a week. He has shut me in here. I am seeing, sensing, and hearing things that I have not otherwise. Maybe he shuts us in because he needs to remove us from everything normal to help us listen and move.

I once again invite yo to shut me in. If it means that you are made more famous, shut me in. I trust you.

[tags]trust, devotions, Genesis 7, life-journaling, God[/tags]