I would assume that many people are familiar with the biblical passage of Noah and the flood, but I would imagine that they never really put much thought into the journey or life of Noah in addition to that situation.
5The Lord saw that the wickedness (depravity) of man was great on the earth, and that every imagination or intent of the thoughts of his heart were only evil continually. 6The Lord The expressions of regret and grief seen here do not mean that God acknowledged the creation of man as a mistake on His part. God is omniscient, knowing all things (Ps 139:16) and He knew that mankind would come into sin and wickedness. God grieved over the sin of man because it was appropriate for Him to do so.regretted that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was [deeply] grieved in His heart. 7So the Lord said, “I will destroy (annihilate) mankind whom I have created from the surface of the earth—not only man, but the animals and the crawling things and the birds of the air—because it [deeply] grieves Me [to see mankind’s sin] and I regret that I have made them.” 8But Noah found favor and grace in the eyes of the Lord. Genesis 6:5-8 AMP
We think that it is tough living a “Christian life” in this environment, but imagine being the one good person that God considers and saves out of the ENTIRE WORLD because everyone else is living in sin and committing evil continually! Can you imagine that Noah might have felt left out when literally EVERYBODY was doing what they wanted to be doing with no repercussions, while you are living according to God’s direction. Can you imagine people being so evil that God decides to destroy EVERYTHING living? If God was able to see that Noah was special and different, then can you imagine how the people living among him must have seen and thought of him? Can you imagine how Noah might have felt that living righteously had no benefits when those who were doing as they pleased seemed to be having fun, thriving, and living carefree. Noah was given instructions to prepare for something that nobody on Earth had ever seen, rain; much like we who live by faith live in a way and believe in something that nobody on Earth has ever seen or experienced, heaven. What’s the logic or purpose in preparing or believing in something that technically hasn’t been proven? Noah received God’s instruction to build the ark and worked on it daily with no understanding or confirmation of what rain is, much like we who have received salvation and live a daily Christian life make a conscious daily decision to choose the will of God over our natural, fleshly urgings. Fast forward to another moment for Noah
1And God remembered and thought kindly of Noah and every living thing and all the animals that were with him in the ark; and God made a wind blow over the land, and the waters receded. 2Also the fountains of the deep [subterranean waters] and the windows of the heavens were closed, the [pouring] rain from the sky was restrained, 3and the waters receded steadily from the earth. At the end of a hundred and fifty days the waters had diminished. 18So Noah went out, and his wife and his sons and their wives with him [after being in the ark one year and ten days]. Genesis 8:1-3,18 AMP
What do you do after you’ve been obedient to the direction and voice of God but you find yourself abandoned or in a worse situation than when you started? Here Noah had built the ark, brought his family, the animals, food, and followed every other direction that God had given him, YET here he is a year later still couped up inside of the ark with no idea when he and his family will be able to exit, or even what they will be exiting into. I believe that this is symbolic of what our relationship with God is supposed to be like; trust God until he is all that you can trust in, and then continue trusting him.
Reflection Time
Should you turn back? If you were in the position of Noah, would you have turned back, and where/when would you have turned back? Have you ever felt that following God was a waste of time? What do you do when you feel your faith weakening or being tested? Do you believe that you can endure a test of your faith? In what areas do you struggle spiritually, mentally, or physically? Make a list of areas of concern in your life, and look for scriptures to address those areas. Don’t forget to pray.
