GOD WILL KEEP US AFLOAT
AND BRING US HOME
Last year I had the vision
of myself on an ark like Noah. I was floating on the water, not knowing where I
was going, but I seemed to be perfectly okay; the Lord was making it so that
all the right things happened for me as I went up the squalls and down into the
valleys of the ocean under me.
In Genesis, chapters six
through nine tell us the story of Noah and the great flood. The peoples’ hearts
were so bad, only a terrible flood could reboot what was happening on the
earth. After this whole event happened, God said He would never send a flood
again (see Gen. 9:14-15), but He never promised it would be smooth going.
Several times throughout history there has been a rebooting, and I believe now
is one of those times again. We can learn a lot from looking at the story of
Noah and the ark.
“And God looked upon the earth, and,
behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And
God said unto Noah, ‘The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is
filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the
earth’” (Gen. 6:12-13).
The next thing God did was
give instructions to Noah on how to build an ark and the details of what Noah
would need to ride the storm.
“Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou
make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch” (Gen. 6:14).
“Thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons,
and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee. And of every living thing of all
flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to
keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female” (vv.
18-19).
I believe God is letting each of us know what we
need to do as an individual or as a family, to be able to stay afloat during
this time. Here, God told Noah to bring in animals for food, but also for what
God had planned for Noah in the future, to let the animals go and repopulate
the earth. The thing is that Noah had no idea what was going to happen. All he
knew was to listen to God and be obedient to what He said. Figuring out the
future was not in Noah’s instructions. However, preparation according to God’s
instructions was the necessary thing.
I know the Lord is whispering to us different
things to do to provide for our future as well. I can’t tell you what you need
to do, only God can do that. I just know what He’s telling me to do. I’ve had
to take on a few tasks that I knew nothing about. But when God says do it, I do
it. Odd things could come up. Whether it is to store up some extra food and
water, change the locks on the door, go grocery shopping at a different store,
stash some money in a new place, think about homeschooling the kids, or any
number of other things only you and God are aware of.
God told Noah: “And take thou unto thee of all
food that is eaten, and thou ‘shalt gather it to thee; and it shall
be for food for thee, and for them. Thus
did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he” (Gen. 6:21-22).
Then finally, “were all the fountains of the great
deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened” (Gen. 7: 11).
“And God remembered Noah,
and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to
pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged; and the waters returned
from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days
the waters were abated. And the ark rested. . . upon the mountains of
Ararat. And the waters decreased continually” (Gen.5: 1-5).
God made a wind pass over the earth. Wind
influences and changes the waves. Here in Vegas, we see the wind come up at odd
times. Jane and I call them “the winds of change.” In John 3:8, Jesus compares
the wind to the spirit of God: “The wind bloweth
where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence
it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of
the Spirit.” To be in touch with God, we need to be willing to be moved by
that spiritual wind. It will bring us home. Isaiah 1:9 tells us: “If ye be
willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.”
God sent a wind to dry up
the waters, and the ark rested, but it still wasn’t safe enough to totally let
go. Noah had to literally “test the waters,” and God gave him wisdom as to how
to do it. He sent out a raven first. Ravens are hardy, clever, and reliable.
They are survivors. The raven didn’t come back. He could live above the water,
and he would be fine. But then Noah sent out a weaker bird, a bird that
generally is more comfortable with easier, gentler things. The dove came back.
“But the dove found no rest for the sole of her
foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on
the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and
pulled her in unto him into the ark” (Gen. 8: 9).
Not everything we want is going to work out the
same. Even though the tempest may seem to be over, certain things we do will be
like the raven, a survivor no matter what. But other things may be more like
the dove, and we will just have to be a little more patient with our dove
projects. But through it all, if we will be lithe to the spirit of God, He will
keep us afloat. I know it will be as He promised:
“He maketh the storm a
calm so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so
he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
“Oh
that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his
wonderful works to the children of men!” (Ps. 107: 29-30).
Love, Carolyn
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