Week 1
After the death of Able, things went from bad to worse. Instead of choosing for God, people
were becoming increasingly more broken in how they lived with God and one another. I’m not
sure it was really living at all – at least not in the way that God had designed it. It finally got to
the point that this is what God decided to do.
Genesis 6:5-7 (NIV)
[5] The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. [6] The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. [7] So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.”
[5] The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. [6] The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. [7] So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.”
I cannot image how heartbroken God was. If you have ever experienced a broken relationship,
multiply it by 1 million, or however many people were living on the earth at that time. God was
so grieved that he decided to wipe them all out. That is difficult for me to understand, except for
the fact that they were already dead in their relationship with God. They had gone so far away
from God, not that God would not take them back, but so far that they were never coming back.
God helped their bodies (in death) follow where their hearts had already gone.
But there was hope. There was one man named Noah, who did follow God and refused to live in brokenness. A man who would do what God asked him to do, no matter what criticism or persecution he would face. We think about the ridicule Noah faced while building the ark. I have a feeling that he faced ridicule all his life, because he followed God. Noah’s only hope was in God and his ways, so he agreed to build the ark.
It is an interesting question to ask ourselves, if we would have built the ark in Noah’s day if God would have asked us. Even more interesting is to ask, are we willing to build the ark today when God asks? Am I willing to provide a sign of healing and hope when God asks me to rake the neighbor’s leaves or shovel their snow? Am I willing to apologize and ask my spouse to forgive me when I have acted selfishly, again. Will I give of my blessings of time, talent, and resources to someone who is not as blessed? Will I even slow down and let a driver in (when they were obviously being a jerk)? Will I choose to be a sign of healing and hope in a broken world? Will I choose to build an ark, so that others may find life?
Life is found in the Father’s House. May we live in it today and invite others to join us in living there.
Time of Prayer:
1) 1 min – What is God saying to me through this devotional?
2) 1 min – What am I going to do about it?
3) 1 min – What do I want to say to God?
4) 2 min – Listen for what God wants to say to you now.
But there was hope. There was one man named Noah, who did follow God and refused to live in brokenness. A man who would do what God asked him to do, no matter what criticism or persecution he would face. We think about the ridicule Noah faced while building the ark. I have a feeling that he faced ridicule all his life, because he followed God. Noah’s only hope was in God and his ways, so he agreed to build the ark.
It is an interesting question to ask ourselves, if we would have built the ark in Noah’s day if God would have asked us. Even more interesting is to ask, are we willing to build the ark today when God asks? Am I willing to provide a sign of healing and hope when God asks me to rake the neighbor’s leaves or shovel their snow? Am I willing to apologize and ask my spouse to forgive me when I have acted selfishly, again. Will I give of my blessings of time, talent, and resources to someone who is not as blessed? Will I even slow down and let a driver in (when they were obviously being a jerk)? Will I choose to be a sign of healing and hope in a broken world? Will I choose to build an ark, so that others may find life?
Life is found in the Father’s House. May we live in it today and invite others to join us in living there.
Time of Prayer:
1) 1 min – What is God saying to me through this devotional?
2) 1 min – What am I going to do about it?
3) 1 min – What do I want to say to God?
4) 2 min – Listen for what God wants to say to you now.