Lately, I have been thinking of the story of Noah. I am sure most of you know of his story. How God sent a worldwide flood to destroy the Earth and of how Noah and his family survived in an ark. Well, lately, I’ve been thinking about the finer details of this story. As each day in this world gets darker, it makes you wonder how anyone could find hope. Noah knew that our hope lies in God.

“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” – Romans 15:4

            The story of Noah can be found in Genesis chapters 6-9. From what we can see, starting in chapter 6, the world was a very dark place. In these times every intent and thought of man was only evil. The world had become perverse and violent. Things got so bad that God was not only saddened to see how far humanity fell, but He was also sorry that He had created man.

“So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”  But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” – Genesis 6:7-8

            However, despite all the darkness, Noah walked with God. Noah was the only man who God saw as good among all men. He was a just man. It is because of Noah’s love and faith in God that he, his family, and several animals were saved. The way I see it…Noah was humanity’s last hope for survival.

            To remain faithful to God must not have been easy. I mean, think about it. Everyone around you is corrupt and living in sin. You are surrounded by nothing but wickedness. It would be so easy to just let yourself fall into the same things that everyone else is doing. Yet, Noah kept his eyes on God. Even when God gave him the tremendous task of building an ark (which would probably be the size of a modern-day cruise ship), he still trusted in God and remained obedient to His word.

“And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him.” – Genesis 7:5

            For forty days and forty nights it rained. The entire world was flooded and every living creature that once lived on this earth passed away. However, even after the rains subsided, God took care of Noah and his family on the ark. Once the waters receded and Noah was able to exit the ark, he built an altar to worship God. It is then that God made a promise, that He still reminds us of to this day. He promised to never again destroy the earth by flood and placed a rainbow in the sky as a constant reminder of His promise.

“I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.” – Genesis 9:13

            From Noah’s story, I see that just because the world around you seems to get worse and worse, it doesn’t mean we need to join them. When we do, we end up walking in the same darkness and it is impossible to find any hope. However, when we walk with God, there is always hope. God’s love is so great that even when the world around us is in shambles, He will keep us safe. God is faithful to those who seek Him and keeps His promises to those who love Him.

“Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.” – Joshua 23:14

            We live in a time where we need God more than ever. We are living in times where good is seen as evil and evil is seen as good. We are living in a society that wants to pull us away from God. We need to be like Noah. While everyone around Him fell into their sin, he remained steadfast in God’s love. Not only that, but we need to stand up for our faith. We cannot be afraid to be chastised or criticized for our faith. Rather, we need to stand boldly in His grace and show the world that we have a God who saves.

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.  So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.” – 2 Timothy 1:7-8