Corona Devo 741
What's the biggest thing you've ever built? Maybe a Lego creation years ago or a snow fort?
We are reminded today of Noah, who had no knowledge of building boats, and yet when God told him to construct a huge one, He said "Yes" without any experience, and without hesitation because He trusted God more than himself.
They say that measurements of Noah's ark were 1 ½ football fields long. Now that's a big boat, especially when you don't know what you are doing.
But the wild thing is...we don't have to know what we are doing, if we are following God's instructions.
Are we following God's instructions today and in our lives?
Sin and selfishness suck us in. The temptation to break God's rules and do what makes us happy (instead of Him) is nothing new, and it's called sin.
Adam and Eve weren’t the only ones to sin, they were just the first. It happens to us when we break the rules that God has given us for our good and
for the good of others. And when we break God’s rules (sin), we also break His heart. He truly wants what is best for us.
God loves everyone, but a long time ago when a man named Noah was living, everyone was doing what THEY wanted instead of what GOD wanted, and they were sinning a lot. (Sound familiar?)
During Noah's lifetime, people were acting very wickedly. This made God unhappy. It made Him sad because people seemed to be thinking more about themselves than about Him.
God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil—evil, evil, evil from morning to night. God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart. God said, “I’ll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds—the works. I’m sorry I made them.” ~Genesis 6:5-8
Noah, however, was a good man. He loved and obeyed God. And God
loved Noah very much.
But Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah. ~Genesis 6:8
God actually loved ALL the people as much as He loved Noah - but at the time, only Noah was listening to God.
This is the story of Noah and his family. Noah was right with God. He was without blame in his time. Noah walked with God. ~Genesis 6:9-10
God told Noah to build an ark (a big boat). So Noah followed God's plan and built a boat that was one-and-a-half football fields long.
Noah's neighbors laughed at him because he was building a (BIG!) boat and there wasn't any water in the desert where they lived. But God told Noah that a great flood was coming, and Noah trusted God. Noah tried to warn the people to change their ways so that they could hear God too. But they wouldn't listen. They just kept on with their selfish lives. People made fun of Noah for following God, but Noah didn’t care.
So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded
him. ~
God asked Noah to collect two of all the creatures of the earth and bring them into the ark.
God also told the animals to find Noah - so it wasn't hard for Noah to gather them together. Pairs of each kind of animal were put safely inside the ark before it began to rain.
They entered the boat in pairs, male and female, just as God had commanded Noah. ~Genesis 7:5
Noah's wife, his three sons and their wives were also safe on the boat. When everyone was aboard, God shut the door.
Then it started to rain, and it rained for forty days and forty nights. The floodwaters covered the earth for 150 days and earth got completely covered with water.
After a while, God sent a big wind and the waters began to
evaporate. Noah and the floating zoo had to stay in the ark for a couple more
months while the earth slowly dried out.
Finally, Noah sent a dove out of the ark's window to look for land… it came back with an olive branch, so Noah knew that the water was low enough for a tree branch to show!
When Noah sent off the dove a week later, it didn't return,
which meant that it had found a place to live on dry land, so it was safe for
Noah to go out too.
It was now time for all the animals and Noah's family to move
off the ark and to start life over again. After everyone left the ark, Noah
prayed to God and thanked Him for keeping them safe.
Suddenly a bright rainbow filled the sky. This was God's promise that He would never flood the earth again.
Then God said, “I am giving you a sign of my promise with you and with all living creatures, for all generations to come. (13) I have placed my rainbow in the clouds... It is the sign of my promise…(15) Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life. (16) When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal promise between God and every living creature on earth.” ~ Genesis 9:12-13, 15-16
Did you know that God created the rainbow? He meant it to stand for His promise to us that He will never leave us and that He will always be here for us.
And the story of Noah reminds us that God is
happy when we listen to Him and do what HE says instead of just pleasing
ourselves and doing what WE want.
Dear Jesus, Thank you for your promise to never leave us, and when we see a rainbow we will remember that it means that You love us so much that You’ll never leave us. Thank you also for reminding us that You are special and holy, and Your plans for us are special too. Forgive us when we do what we want instead of what You want. Help us to listen to You and your instructions like Noah did. And may we TRUST You today. You can do anything! Amen.
Blessings,
Sarah
https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com
Comments
Post a Comment