Noah, Goodness Still Abounds Part 2

My, Devotion to Him #308

The subtitle for part two is – A Rising Tide.

Verse Passage: Psalm 42:7-8 “Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me. By day the LORD commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.” – ESV

Life isn’t always what everyone likes to portray it as. There are times in life when we feel overwhelmed by the barrage of waves and storms crashing into, over, and around our life.
I’ve had my own storms to weather through. Sometimes God got me out quick and easy; other times, He diverted me from them. But, there has been a good amount that I’ve found myself smack dab right in the middle with no end in sight.
In the Biblical story that recounts the life of Noah, I’ve wondered how he felt. God had just swept away the only life they’d ever known. All of their friends or “acquaintances” and distant relatives are gone. Their home, their land, and their possessions are all gone.
Seven million people have died from floods between 1931-1999 (68 years). This is truly saddening and shows us the pure power of floods and the force they bring with them.
Estimates put the pre-flood population at a minimum of two billion people. Everything and everyone was now gone! The worst single event in history. Only eight people were left on earth. So for a minute, think if one day you woke up and there were only eight people left in the whole world, and it was just the eight who are your family members (if you don’t have eight, then take a few neighbors who are close by) that’s it.
I personally cannot imagine the magnitude of such a thing happening, but it did, and Noah lived to tell this very story.

Let’s try another approach without getting into a true believer discussion. There are 2.2 billion Christians on earth and 8 billion people in total. So even if Jesus was to come back today and we all left earth, it would be nowhere near what happened during the Great Flood (from a population decline viewpoint only). This shows how wild the flood truly was. Another thing to think about is we didn’t even discuss the loss of animal life that happened.

In life, I’ve found there are just cloudy seasons. Sometimes it seems you can’t get out of one. You might have asked, “God, are you there? Do you see what I’m facing right now? Will you keep that promise you made before this cloud/storm came?”

Trust me. I’ve been there! So many other people have been right in that same spot. You are not alone in this.

We find in Noah’s story that the waters that came and took out everything were in the hands of God. Redemption existed on a boat in the middle of one of the most tragic and destructive events in human history.
Even though it seems as if God had given up on His created people, He had not. Even though His anger may last for a moment, His grace will surely come.

The truth is that our faith is tested under circumstances we don’t think we can get out of. That is the only time we find what our faith is actually made of and if where we felt we stood was a solid rock or a beach getting washed out by the rising tide.

We pray that despite everything you may be facing in life, God gives you the faith, strength, and hope to declare a song of praise. Reach down deep! Dive into His Word! Abide in His presence. Noah found favor in the Lord to allow him to live. Now he would have to weather one of the most dangerous storms in history. Only he and his family would endure for about 371 days on a boat. Yeah, this was just a short 40 days and 40 nights rain storm; get out, and everything is fine. 371 days! Your storm may last longer than you thought it would. Don’t give up!

In another devotional/podcast episode, I’ll open up about some storms in my life. Though I want to tell one of them took two years to get out of. You are not alone, no matter how much it feels like it. Hold onto the Lord close. Strive to go further than you’ve ever gone before. You will see dry land again. The rising tide will subside.

God bless,

Copyright © 2023 by Jacob Olinger

Noah, Goodness Still Abounds Series

• Noah Part 1: Understanding His Ways
• Noah Part 2: A Rising Tide (current page)
• Noah Part 3: Healing Is Coming
• Noah Part 4: Opportunities In Life
• Noah Part 5: Sacrifices
• Noah Part 6: Rainbows Among Us