The water prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth,
and the ark floated on the surface of the water.
We don’t know a lot that goes around this story and about this time in history. We don’t know if there was ever a boat before now or if Noah had any experience with oceans or seas. Building this huge structure in the middle of land must have seemed peculiar to those around him, and yet Noah himself must have been peculiar as someone who was separate, not participating in the sin around him.
And then there was the parade of animals walking up and getting into the boat. I wondered what those who saw it thought…was the Noah the “animal whisperer.”
We have no record that Noah shared his conversations with God or called those around him to repentance. I think God’s decision was already made. I think those who were sinning had made their decisions.
And then the rains came.
And the ark “floated.” I try to visualize those moments inside the ark, the door closed, the sound of rain. The ark creaks as the water rises, maybe swaying a little side to side as water gathers on one side and then goes to the other. I picture Noah and his family, waiting, listening, hoping…a little fearful and a little amazed.
And then the feeling of floating…no longer connected to the earth, rising above all that they knew, what had always been a firm foundation to them. There was no anchor, holding them steady. If there were winds, there may have been a sense of movement, going with the current, and yet no ability to see.
Floating on God’s grace.
I can’t help but relate it to my life, the times when I’ve lost the security of what I have known, when all I could do was trust Jesus. I knew I had been obedient, had made preparations in my heart and life for what was coming. And yet in those moments of letting go and letting God take over, I heard my own creaks and moans as I left the realities of the world for the realities of his grace. I was lifted up and all I could do was rest, floating, abandoned to his will.
It hasn’t happened often in my life, but it is so like Noah’s experience. We do need to prepare ourselves spiritually for what is to come, as much as God reveals it to us. But there is a point in which we rest in him and the hope of his salvation.
