I was reminded of the spiritual condition of Noah when the Scripture says, "But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." (Gen. 6:8 NKJV) Even in the midst of perversion, evil, and utter wickedness, Noah loved God and walked with Him. God found favor, or grace, with Noah because of the righteousness that Noah was "clothed" in. Noah's faith and life of obedience allowed God to clothe him in righteousness, not Noah's righteousness, but God's righteousness. Noah was living day by day in sweet communion with the Father. How do we know this?
God spoke to Noah. He had conversation with Noah. Noah wasn't suprised when God spoke because he knew the voice of the One he loved and trusted in. Noah was a friend of God. Because God knew Noah's heart, He revealed truths to him that he didn't share with others. God told Noah of His plan to destroy the world and how He was going to save Noah and his family. God reveals truths to those who know Him and trust Him.
Even though Noah heard God's plan, he didn't just sit around with the truth he had been given, all puffed up with knowledge and pride. He acted on the truth immediately. He proclaimed the truth to the wicked people of the day as they ridiculed and watched him build this "thing" that would save them from the rains (something no one had ever seen because it had never rained on the earth), and let them know that judgement was coming! Their only hope was to repent of their sins and turn from their wicked ways. God had given Noah the message of salvation and what he had to do to be saved. Noah had faith and believed what God said. He spent the next 120 years building the ark, staying focused, and pressing on in obedience to God's design and call on his life. Noah was "being" saved as he trusted God with his whole heart, and as he acted on his faith everyday by continuing the building of the ark. Because of his faith, Noah was a very important part of God's redemptive plan (an Old Testament picture of Christ) which was now moving full speed ahead.
In Genesis 6:5-7, God declares how wicked the people are and He says He is grieved in His heart. He says He is sorry that He ever created man. This may sound like God is saying He messed up, but we know God is perfect and His ways are perfect. God didn't mess up. We did! And God knew we would. I believe God is saying that He is so grieved in His heart because His perfect plan of salvation (which was from the foundation of the world), the sacrificial death of His only Son, which will pay the penalty for man's ugly sinfulness, is now moving forward. The sin of the people grieved God's heart, but the death of His only Son, which had to take place, grieved Him even more. Our sin still grieves the heart of God, and rightly so, because it is a rejection of His Son, Jesus Christ. We are called to repentance of sin to replace the rejection of Christ with the reception of Christ. True repentance leads to true reception. And true reception of God's Son turns us away from a life of sin to a life of faith, trust and obedience to the Word of God!
In Chapter 7, verse 1, the day of salvation has arrived! Noah hears God say, "Come into the ark." What a beautiful visual of what we will hear Christ say one day as we enter heaven. Because we received Him, He will receive us. He'll say, "Come on in, my child." If we stay the course, press on, in faith, and trust Christ with our lives wholeheartedly, our salvation will be complete. Our faith will be made sight just like Noah's was. We are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. We can have a personal a relationship with this just, holy, compassionate and patient God by the grace of, and through our faith in Jesus Christ. We can walk and talk with Him. We can find favor with Him. We can have the same strong faith that Noah had if we just believe, trust, and live a life of obedience. Noah and his family experienced the joy of the Lord while the rest of the world experienced God's wrath and destruction. The familiar bumper sticker really does say it all, "No Jesus. No Peace. Know Jesus. Know Peace."
How about you today? Are you walking with the Lord so closely that you know His voice when He speaks? As His child, sometimes His voice is muffled because we've allowed sin to creep in and crowd out His voice. Take a spiritual hearing test and see what God is revealing to you. He may be saying, "Repent of the sin that is clogging up your heart so you can hear Me. I have things I want you to know. I miss our conversations and because of your disobedience, you are distorting the image of My Son in your life and our relationship isn't what it could be... and there are consequences for that."
If you don't have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you can. Place your trust, faith and hope in the One who knows you best and loves you most. Believe in Him today. Stop rejecting Him and receive Him into your life. You don't have to live a life of despair. Begin a life of hope today- receive Him!
My Pleasure,
Melanie
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