By the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains are visible. The receding is slow and sequential — first the ark rests (month seven), then the mountain tops appear (month ten). Three months between the ark touching ground and the first visible signs of land — three months of faith before sight. Noah is inside the ark, waiting, as mountains he cannot yet see are gradually emerging from the water. Romans 8:25 speaks of hoping for what is not yet seen and waiting for it patiently. Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as confidence in what is hoped for and certainty about what is not seen. The three months between touching ground and seeing land is a picture of the in-between time that characterizes much of the life of faith: you know the ark has settled, but you can't yet see what is re-emerging. Where are you in that three-month gap between settled and visible? What evidence do you have that the ark has touched ground, even before you can see the mountaintops?

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