Today, I picked an unusual character to speak about as having a dream–Noah. Did Noah have a God-given dream?

In my book Living the Dream: How to Fulfill Your God-given Purpose, I explain that our God-given dream includes all assignments God gives us to advance His kingdom. Using this definition, Noah’s building of the ark was his God-given dream. 

Building the ark was not something Noah dreamed up on his own. It was a direct instruction from God to fulfill God’s purpose. I don’t imagine that Noah would have chosen this task or even thought of it by himself. How could he dream of a worldwide flood and building an ark, when it had never rained before? Would he have dreamed of all the creatures of the earth being wiped out, even man?

But God decided to destroy the world because of the wickedness of man. “Every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled” (Genesis 6:5-6). God would destroy everything, including the animals, birds, and humans. 

But “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8). God decided to spare Noah and his family to repopulate the earth. God came to Noah and said, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them … make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out” (Genesis 6:13-14). God also instructed him to gather two of each of the animals and bring them to safety in the ark (Genesis 6:19).

This was Noah’s assignment, and it became his dream. He obeyed God and built the ark just as God commanded. While he did so, he preached to the people (2 Peter 2:5), but no one listened. When Noah finished the ark, he and his family entered, rode out the flood in safety, and lived on to continue fulfilling God’s purpose for their lives. When the ground was dry, Noah and his family exited the ark and began their new God-given assignment.  

“God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1). God established a covenant with Noah and all his descendants, saying, “Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And He placed the rainbow in the clouds as a sign of the covenant (Genesis 9:11-12). 

Noah fulfilled his God-given dream because he “did everything just as God commanded him” (Genesis 6:22). 

What we learn from Noah’s dream:

• God might give us a dream that surprises us.

• We may not even like the dream, but we can obey God knowing that He knows best. 

• When we obey, God will bless us and accomplish His will through us.

• When we complete our current task, God will assign our next step in our God-given dream.

• God uses the dreams He gives us to advance His kingdom.

Noah may not have liked or wanted his dream. He had to preach to wicked people about God’s coming judgement. They probably mocked him as they ignored his pleas to come to repentance. But Noah was faithful. Because he obeyed God, he and his family lived on to receive their next God-given dream—to repopulate the earth. 

Our God-given dreams may also involve assignments we would never choose for ourselves, but God knows best. He knows what He wants to accomplish around us and will assign us the task He determines. As we serve in the area He places us, we are to warn others of the coming judgement and offer them the gift of salvation, just as Noah did. As we obey, we will fulfill the plan God has for our lives. 

What is the current task God has assigned you?

Have you ever received an assigned from God that surprised you?

How did He use it to bring others to Himself?

*All Scriptures are quoted from NIV unless otherwise noted