A series on God’s calling: Noah
Genesis 6:5-22
[Traditionally
we think of someone who has received “God’s call on their life” as being a
missionary or pastor or some other paid ministry position. But God has called
all of us into ministry. And there’s not just one way that He does it. In this
series, we will look at how God called people in the Bible to ministry, and
what that means to us.]
They speculated on many daily
details of living that I had never considered. It was all very interesting, but somewhat theoretical for us.
That was, until later that year when Hurricane Helene caused
significant damage and loss of life in many states across the southeast. North
Carolina was especially devastated with flooding, and particularly the city of Ashland.
In Genesis, Noah didn’t face a hurricane resulting
from atmospheric conditions off the coast. He faced a hurricane of God’s judgement
due to the wickedness of mankind.
5 The Lord saw
how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and
that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the
time. NIV
In fact, the people were so evil that God regretted
that he had ever created mankind. Scripture tells us that, “God’s heart was
deeply troubled”. As a result, he came to a difficult decision.
7 So
the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human
race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that
move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” NIV
However, God always provides a means for redemption.
He is constantly seeking us out to draw us to him. The same was true at this
time and he found just the right person. “Noah found favor with the Lord”.
Therefore, God called Noah to be an integral part of
his redemptive plan; he called him into ministry; he called him to build an
ark.
14 “Build a large
boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out.
Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior. 15 Make
the boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. NLT
God’s call could easily have puzzled Noah because he
was many miles from any large body of water. Also, he may have felt overwhelmed
by such a large project to undertake with just his family. Finally, living in
such an evil and godless culture may well have given Noah serious doubts. Yet,
he obeyed.
22 Noah did
everything just as God commanded him. NIV
Just like Noah provided the means for saving
humanity then, Jesus has provided the means for saving humanity now. He has
made it possible for anyone to metaphorically, “board the ark to be saved from the
flood”.
God is still at work today. Like Noah, he’s calling us to be a part of his plan of redemption; he’s calling us into ministry; he’s calling us to “build an ark”.
So, what is your ark encounter that God is calling
you to do?
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