Tag: noah

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Genesis Devotions

Not forgotten

Genesis

And the water surged on the earth 150 days…

God remembered Noah…and the water began to subside…

By the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth was dry. (7:24-8:1, 14)

Since COVID-19 hit, we in Japan have been asked several times to refrain from going out as much as possible.

Imagine being on a boat (albeit a large one) for just over a year.

That’s what Noah and his family had to do. The flood started on the  17th day of the second month, and the earth finally dried up a year later on the 27th day of the second month. (7:11, 8:14)

How many times did God communicate with Noah during that time? Once? Twice? Never?

And yet, it says “God remembered Noah.”

It’s not as if God had forgotten Noah and suddenly realized, “Wait a minute! Noah and his family are still on that boat.”

Rather, God was watching over Noah and his family the whole time.

We may be going through our own trials and struggles. But remember that we are never forgotten. Rather, God tells us,

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name; you are mine.

When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you
and the rivers will not overwhelm you,

When you walk through the fire,
you will not be scorched
and the flame will not burn you.

For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, and your Savior.” (Isaiah 43:1-3)

Categories
Proverbs

When we reject wisdom

In this passage, we see the dangers of rejecting God’s wisdom and clinging to our own ways.

As I look at this passage, it makes me think of Noah.  For 120 years before the flood came, he preached to the people, warning them of the disaster to come.

As “Wisdom” does in this passage, he probably cried out in the public squares and the streets, “How long will you cling to your simple ways.  You lack a moral compass, and as a result, you are so gullible to whatever the devil says, and it’s leading you into all kinds of evil.”

(This, by the way, is essentially what the word “simple” means in the book of Proverbs.)

Noah likely rebuked the people further saying, “How long will you mock what God has said?  How long will you hate the knowledge that he longs to pass on to you?”

And God through Noah, probably cried out to the people, “If you would just listen to my rebuke, I would pour out my heart to you.  I would reveal to you my thoughts.

“But instead you reject me and give me no heed though I reach out to you.  You ignore my counsel, and you reject my rebuke.”

Then the flood came.  And when it did, the people finally called out to God, but he would not answer.  Though they looked for him, they could not find him.  Why?

Because they hated knowledge, and refused to fear the Lord.  And so they ate the fruit of their deeds.  Their simple ways killed them, and their complacency destroyed them.

But for Noah and his family, they found safety, and were without fear from harm.

How about you?

When you lack a moral compass, when you consider all values relative, and you live complacently in your sin, it will ultimately destroy you.  It wrecks your life here on earth, and it will ultimately banish you to hell.

And once you’re there, it’s too late.  God will not hear you, and you will eat the fruit of all you did here on this earth.

But while you’re still here on earth, there is still hope.

So repent.  Accept God’s  rebuke in your life.  Open your ears to him; soften your heart to him, and he will open his heart to you.  He will show you the way to life.

Not just the way to heaven, but to a full life here on earth as well.  A life filled with his joy and peace.

Let us be like Noah, constantly listening to and following after God.  And when the storm hits, we will find a place of safety and ease, with no fear of harm.

Categories
Genesis

When it’s hard to wait

Noah
Jan van 't Hoff/Gospelimages.com

Several years ago, when I was traveling to Hawaii from Japan, I decided to save a few yen and go through Korea.

Bad choice. As we arrived in Korea, there was a fog, and the plane couldn’t land.

After circling for a while, we landed at the old Korean airport, and there we stayed for at least an hour, perhaps two or three.

And that entire time, I had to stay in my cramped economy class airplane seat, bored to tears.

Finally, we were able to take off and land at the new airport. Needless to say, I vowed never to go through Korea again.

I kind of wonder if that’s how Noah and his family felt in that ark.

We often talk about how it rained for 40 days and nights, but we don’t think very often about how long they actually stayed in the ark. Five months after the flood started, they finally land on dry ground.

Sort of, anyway. They landed on the top of a mountain. So the motion sickness part of their trip was over. But their cabin sickness part didn’t end for another 7 months.

Altogether, Noah and his family were in the ark for a year before God finally said, “Okay Noah, it’s okay to leave the ark.”

I can’t imagine having to do that. I mean it’s bad enough waiting five months on water. But then the boat actually lands on sort of solid ground, and you have to wait another 7 months after that.

Every day, you have to feed a ton of animals and deal with the manure. And that was the fun part of the day. The rest of the time, you’re just twiddling your thumbs waiting for the go-ahead to leave. Talk about going stir crazy.

How many times does God ask us to wait in our lives for his timing? And how do we react to it?

I remember wanting to go to Japan right after I finished college. But for whatever the reasons, the doors kept closing on me. I had to wait a full year before I could finally go.

But in that time, God gave me a job at a computer firm. Literally. I didn’t go searching for the job; it came to me. And God kept me there just long enough for me to know that it wasn’t the life for me.

If I had gone to Japan right away, I probably would’ve wondered what would’ve happened if I had actually done something with my major (management information systems). But by being forced to wait, now I know, and I have no regrets.

I remember waiting for the right woman to come into my life. I figured I’d get married sometime in my mid-twenties and ended up getting married in my mid-thirties instead.

But at the point when I had reached ultimate frustration, once again God provided and placed just the right woman into my life.

For the past several years, I’ve felt like I’m in somewhat of a holding pattern concerning my ministry. And it’s been a bit frustrating.

I still don’t know all that God holds for me. But I’m starting to feel God is moving again, and I know that whatever he has in store for me, it will have been worth the wait.

I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. (Psalm 130:5, NIV)