AND GOD REMEMBERED....

I feel so alone. Nobody even knows I exist. Nobody cares. Does God even know I’m here? I’ve been obedient, done everything He asked but I think God has forgotten or is too busy with everyone else. Have you ever had days, weeks or months in which these words became your refrain? Then the story of Noah will give you hope.

Consider how Noah must have felt after God shut the door of the ark and the days continued to pass. I have read many different theories on how long Noah was actually on the ark, they range from 150 to 377 days. What we can know is that it must not have been the most pleasant of experiences. The Genesis account tells us that the world was so wicked that the mind of man was continually on evil. In the midst of the evil, God found one man, Noah, who was righteous, faithful, and “perfect in his generations.” God called Noah into service; gave him the instructions and Noah obeyed. Genesis 6:22 tells us, “Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.” I have to confess that I’m not sure I could say I have equaled Noah in faithfulness.

Finally, the years of building the ark, as God had commanded ended, the animals were gathered into the ark along with Noah, his wife, three sons and their wives. For seven days they waited for somebody; anybody from the congregation Noah had preached to for all those years of building, to join them in the ark of salvation. Imagine his disappointment when no one came and God shut the door. The long rainy days began. The monotony of feeding the animals, cleaning the waste, listening to the rain, living in the gloom and repeating it day after day had to have been depressing. There was nobody to care if Noah existed except a depressed wife and kids and hundreds of loud, stinky animals. Had God forgotten him? After all he had done for God was he sentenced to die on a creaky boat, alone and forgotten? NO, THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY! Genesis 8:1records, “And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark…”

We all go through seasons of loneliness and isolation. We are studying God’s Word, seeking His will through prayer, obeying everything we know and hear from God, yet we seem to still be stuck on a stinky boat. God hasn’t forgotten you; the stinky boat is all part of His plan. Wonderful, fresh, new adventures are ahead. After many days, when the time is right your story will continue, “And God remembered….”