For forty days and forty nights the rain just kept coming. The water kept rising until there was nothing but water to be seen. According to Genesis, Noah and his family were on the ark for over a year (Genesis 7:11 and 8:13-14).
Now, we know how this story ends even before we start reading it, but what would it be like to be Noah? He had no idea what was going to happen next. All he knew was that the rain kept coming.
Have you ever felt like that? Like “the rain just keeps coming” and there is no end in sight. Worse than that though, is the knowledge that, even when it does end, everything will be different. The uncertainty that comes with not knowing how things will end is sometimes worse than the storm itself.
I do not know what things are like in your life right now. I hope that the skies are blue, that the sun is shining and that everything is great. For many people though, the dark rain clouds are just beginning to appear on the horizon. For others, the storm is in full force and the rain is beating down on them. One thing that I do know, if you are not in one right now, a storm will be here soon enough. So what can you do? Where can you turn?
After the flood waters covered the earth for one hundred and fifty days, Genesis chapter eight opens with these great words, “But God remembered Noah” (verse 1). The Hebrew word translated “remembered” does not imply that God forgotten, but that he was waiting for the right moment to act. He did not just “recall” that Noah was there, but that he was ready to act with loving care for him.
In the middle of the storm, Noah may have wondered, “Where is God?”, but God had not forgotten about Noah. In fact, he was nearby all the time.
God has not forgotten you either. He is nearby.
At times, the storms of life may hide him from us, but they never hide us from him.
Now, we know how this story ends even before we start reading it, but what would it be like to be Noah? He had no idea what was going to happen next. All he knew was that the rain kept coming.
Have you ever felt like that? Like “the rain just keeps coming” and there is no end in sight. Worse than that though, is the knowledge that, even when it does end, everything will be different. The uncertainty that comes with not knowing how things will end is sometimes worse than the storm itself.
I do not know what things are like in your life right now. I hope that the skies are blue, that the sun is shining and that everything is great. For many people though, the dark rain clouds are just beginning to appear on the horizon. For others, the storm is in full force and the rain is beating down on them. One thing that I do know, if you are not in one right now, a storm will be here soon enough. So what can you do? Where can you turn?
After the flood waters covered the earth for one hundred and fifty days, Genesis chapter eight opens with these great words, “But God remembered Noah” (verse 1). The Hebrew word translated “remembered” does not imply that God forgotten, but that he was waiting for the right moment to act. He did not just “recall” that Noah was there, but that he was ready to act with loving care for him.
In the middle of the storm, Noah may have wondered, “Where is God?”, but God had not forgotten about Noah. In fact, he was nearby all the time.
God has not forgotten you either. He is nearby.
At times, the storms of life may hide him from us, but they never hide us from him.
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