“And the flood was forty days upon
the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up
above the earth.”—Genesis 7:17
Jesus said in Matthew 24:37, “that as the days of Noah were, so shall the
coming of the Son of man be.” Many
Biblical scholars believe that the return of Jesus is very near, due in a large
part to social changes and behaviors.
Genesis chapter six explains to us that the wickedness of humankind was
so great that even the imaginations of the thoughts of their hearts was always
evil and great violence filled the earth.
People were going about their every day lives without any thought about
God—without any regard to righteousness.
People were living as they pleased.
Whatever they wanted to do; they did.
This is called self-governance.
Doing whatever pleases self to do.
Whatever serves an individual’s self-interest is called self-governance.
Noah and his family did not
live like this. Scripture tells us that
Noah found grace in the sight of God and that He instructed him to build an ark
that would preserve Noah and to conserve the life of the animals. Reflect for a moment and draw strength and
understanding from Noah’s actions after God told him to build the ark.
First, God called on Noah to
do something that he had never done before.
Sometimes God calls upon us to do something that we have never done
before.
Secondly, God gave Noah
specific instructions on how to carry out God’s plans. God gives us instructions when He calls upon
us. He doesn’t keep us in the dark –
even if it seems like it is taking a long time.
Thirdly, God’s grace will
always protect. When it was time for
Noah and his family to be secured in the ark, God shut the door so that they
would come to no harm.
Lastly, the same rain that
brought judgment to the earth brought deliverance to Noah. It caused him to rise above the circumstances
and to be delivered from the wickedness and evilness that surrounded him.
Be encouraged today that God’s
grace is at work in your life and in your circumstances and will cause you to
rise to the top and be preserved.
Prayer—Heavenly Father thank You for Your grace at
work in my life. Today I repent for
acting in self-governance in my life, and I ask You to forgive me. Today I yield myself to You and to Your
instructions. Lord, thank You for
preserving me and my family in any and all circumstances. Lord, I trust You to help me today to
confidently rely upon You grace in my life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
