March 16, 2023
Reading: Genesis 8: 1-22
Focus: Genesis 8:1 – But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and livestock that were with him in the ark, and He sent a wind over the earth and the waters receded.
Father God, we thank you for another day. Open our hearts and let us hear Your word. Help us to always remember that we are not forgotten and that You love us. In Jesus Name, Amen.
The way Genesis 8:1 is written would make you think that God forgot about them but be assured He did not. God knew where they were and what they were doing and thinking. This is what I am thinking. The rain from above and the waters gushing up from below kicked up a lot of debris and mud. Since God does not change the rules of nature, He knew it would take time for all of it to settle down to the bottom of the waters. And the ark may not have arrived yet over the place that God planned for it to settle. It makes sense to me that He waited until everything was just as it should be for His plan to continue.
Noah and his family had heard the rain stop. There was only the sound of sloshing water against the ark after those 40 days of rain. For 150 days they floated on the surface of the waters. No land in sight. Everything was still covered by the waters. At this point they had been in the ark about 190 days, and it seemed there was no end in sight. They could not leave the ark. I am sure they wondered if God had forgotten them, but the continued on with the work that was required to take care of the animals and themselves. I can imagine that they felt that God had forgotten them. Have you ever felt forgotten? That no one remembers you and your circumstances? No one cares what’s going on in your life? It’s a miserable feeling, isn’t it? But after 150 days, God remembered Noah, his family and the ark full of animals. He sent a wind to begin drying out the earth. For 150 days that wind blew until the tops of mountain began to peek through the water. And still, they could not leave the ark. There were only mountain peaks, not vegetation or even enough land to even make a camp, just to get out of the boat. That must have been a mighty strong wind because it had to dry a world covered in water. At least, it wasn’t.
Toward the end of this 150 days, the ark struck ground and began to settle into the mountains of Ararat. Noah waited for forty days after the ark stopped moving, then he decided to see if there was enough dry wind for a bird to land on. He sent out a raven, but it kept flying back and forth over the waters. Seven days later he sent out a dove to see if there was dry land. It came back exhausted after flying about all day. There was no place to land. So, Noah waited another seven days and sent the dove out again. That evening it returned with an olive leaf in its beak. He knew then that the waters were receding and trees had begun to grow again. Joy rang through the ark. The water was going down. Noah sent the dove out again seven days later. This time when the dove was sent out again and it did not return.
At this point, Noah and his family had been in the ark, with thousands of animals, for over a year. There were the 7 days before the rain, forty days of rain and 150 days before the wind was sent. That wind blew for 150 days and about 70 days later the tops of the mountains began to show. Noah waited 40 more days and sent out a bird to test how far the waters had gone down. After this, Noah waited another 7 days and sent a dove who returned. After another seven days, the dove was sent but did not return. Most Biblical scholars believe that Noah had been in the ark for 377 days, give a day or two either way. 377 days to care for and clean up after all the animals. 377 days with no one else but the 8 people in the ark to talk to. I can’t imagine how it must have felt.
After they tore off the roof of the ark, they saw that there was indeed dry ground. Then came the day when the earth was finally dry enough and God told Noah and his family to leave the ark. But that wasn’t as easy as it sounds. They had to herd the animals from their enclosures and out of the ark. When the animals were released and they went their ways to where God intended them to be, where they could repopulate the earth with their species. It was probably as much work as it had been to herd all of the animals into the ark.
Noah did not forget to worship God after he left the ark. He and his family built and altar and sacrificed some of the clean animals and birds to God in thanksgiving for the deliverance from the flood. God accepted that sacrifice and, the Bible says, He said in His Heart that He “. . . would never again curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again would I destroy all living creatures as I have done.”
The flood of Noah’s day was a huge catastrophe. I know there are things in my life that I have felt were a catastrophe and felt more alone that ever before. I have felt forgotten by God. Sometimes I feel forgotten by even my family. But I have also learned that I am never alone. I have had some really dark days in the past. I have felt that my prayers hit the ceiling and fall back down to the floor. I’m sure many of us has felt this way once in a while. But when I stop looking down and start looking up to Jesus, I find that I am not forgotten after all. Oh, I may still have to suffer through whatever is facing me but I won’t be alone in it, ever.
I am here to tell you that God never forgets us. He has seen where we are going and is waiting for us there. He know our needs before we even know what we need. He knows where we are, how deep in sin we are, and is patiently waiting for us to turn to Him. He is working things that we cannot even see for our good. When we are at our worst, He is at His best. I know it sounds cliché but it’s the truth. I’ve probably said this before, but God sees the top of the puzzle of our lives. He sees all the colors and all the pieces and how they fit together. We only see the underside of that puzzle. Cardboard, with nothing on it. I have said many times that I wish I could see what God sees in my life, but I don’t think I could take it. He sees all the good and the bad. He knows how the pieces will fit together. I would make a mess of things if I tried to do what God does for me. In fact, I have messed things up when I get in God’s way.
Getting up and leaving a solved problem behind is like walking out of the ark. You may have spent days, months and even years dealing with what you thought would be the end of you. An abusive marriage, divorce, a lost job, a death, disease and the list goes on and on. But God takes what is meant for our harm and turns it into a polished gem that we can keep to remind us of God’s mercy and grace.
I watched a very dear young man go through the devastation of a divorce. He was destroyed when his wife left. He loved her more than anything. Although he tried and tried, there was nothing he could do to save his marriage. She wanted out. It has taken him two years, hours of prayer and the love and support of his friends and family but I can tell you that today, he holds his head up and knowing that God has been with him in his deepest despair. The polished gem? The knowledge that what Satan meant to use to destroy him was used by God to make him stronger in his faith and confidence in the Lord. The pain of the divorce sent him to his knees and to the One who knows our pain and takes it on Himself, Jesus.
When we needed it most, Jesus is there. When we can’t go on, Jesus picks us up and carries us. When life is at its worse, Jesus is at His best. Jesus can take anything you throw at Him. If you’re angry, tell Him. If you hurt, cry out to Him. When you feel forgotten by everyone, Jesus is beside you. He is just a whispered “Lord, Help!” away. Jesus remembered you and me when He was dying on the cross. He remembered that we needed to be saved from our sin. He remembers us always. When we accept the salvation through Jesus, there is one thing God forgets. He forgets our sins. They are separated from us as far as the east is from the west and are never to be remembered by Him.
Where are you in God’s memory?
Remember me, Lord. Light my way. Thank You for seeing my need as You shed Your blood for me. Thank for removing the burden of sin from my heart. Thank You for being by my side when I need it most. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Food for Thought
- Do you believe that the flood was an actual event here on earth?
- You are in a boat, surrounded by ‘water’ on all sides, what do you feel? How do you deal with it?
- Have there been times in your life that you have felt that even God has forgotten you?
- Where do you turn when you don’t feel that God is listening to you?
- Do you know that God has never forgotten you? How?
