WaterWorld

 “Everything that breathed and lived on dry land died.”  Genesis 7:22

God hurt.  “His heart was filled with pain”(Genesis 6:6).  He hadn’t made a mistake, but humans had made a mess.  Less than two millennia after God created and commended, He doomed and destroyed.  “I will wipe mankind from the face of the earth for I am grieved that I have made them”(Genesis 6:6).

“But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord…so God said to Noah, ‘I am going to put an end to all people…I am going to destroy both them and the earth.  So make yourself an ark’”(Genesis 6:8, 13-14).  Talk about a mid-life crisis!  Noah was only in his 500s. (His granddaddy Methuselah was in his 900s and still going strong.)  All three of Noah’s boys were out of the house and married, and he and the Mrs. were doing well and anticipating the years to come.

But then the call came to build a boat--a big one.  A 450’ x 75’ x 45’ triple-decker. Perfect for a 378 days/377 nights cruise for eight adults and a large party of animals.  (It only rained for 40 days and 40 nights, but drying out took much longer than the deluge.)  So for the next many years, Noah preached from his heart and pounded with his hammer, but no one repented.  When the rains came down and the floods came up, only his family was saved. 

The ark rocked in the waves and then rested on a mountain.  When the water receded, Noah emerged, and God made a covenant that a downpour would never again destroy all life.  A rainbow ringed the sky as a sign of God’s faithfulness, and He blessed the new beginning.

Even if the whole world thinks otherwise, walking with God is the only way to keep your head above water. He protects His children and keeps His promises. Rain or Shine.