Sometimes You Should Float

One of the most unsettling things about the story of Noah isn’t actually the flood.

It’s the boat.

When you read Genesis closely, God is incredibly detailed. He gives exact measurements—length, width, height. He names the material. He even specifies the pitch to seal it inside and out.

“So make yourself an ark of cypress wood… This is how you are to build it…” (Genesis 6:14–16)

But there’s something strikingly absent.

No steering. No sail. No engine.

Noah was told to build a massive vessel to survive the greatest storm the world had ever known—yet God gave him no way to control where it went.

He couldn’t steer away from danger.

He couldn’t angle into the waves.

He couldn’t aim for dry land.

Once the door was shut, Noah wasn’t navigating anything—he was being carried.

“Then the Lord shut him in.” (Genesis 7:16)

That line matters.

Because the ark wasn’t designed for navigation.

It was designed for dependence.

It was built to float—completely surrendered to the hand of God.

Noah’s role was never to be the captain.

He was the passenger.

God was the one in control.

And Scripture shows us this pattern again and again.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)

“The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in His way.” (Psalm 37:23)

Sometimes obedience looks active—building, preparing, showing up day after day.

And sometimes faith looks like releasing the wheel altogether.

“Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

I can’t help but think this is where many of us are right now.

Exhausted from trying to steer.

Anxious from trying to control outcomes.

Gripping situations God never asked us to manage.

Jesus said it plainly:

“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:27)

Maybe the reason things feel so unsteady isn’t because God has lost control—

but because you’re trying to install a steering wheel in a season He designed for surrender.

“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)