Ep. 69 | Hope Floats | Genesis

Listen in as Pastor Eddie Blalock shares today’s daily devotional featuring Genesis 5:28-32. Let’s be Formed by The Word together!

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Every story has a beginning. And if you don't understand the beginning, you'll likely misunderstand everything that follows. Welcome to Formed by the Word. Currently, we're going back to the very beginning as we look together at the first 11 chapters of Genesis. These chapters explain our world, our struggles, and much about ourselves. We'll see beauty and brokenness, purpose and pride, judgment and grace. We'll watch humanity fall and see that God already had a plan to restore his relationship with us. The Bible doesn't start with a problem, it starts with a perfect God, and that changes everything. So, wherever you're listening, whether you're driving, working out, or just scrolling for something meaningful, lean in, open your heart, because the God who spoke in the beginning is still speaking today.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

I've titled this devotion Hope Floats. Does that ring a bell with you? Perhaps some of you saw a movie by that name. The 1998 film features Sandra Bullock as a young mother whose life is turned upside down by her husband's infidelity. She and her daughter move back home with her mother and she meets an old classmate. Well, you can imagine where it goes from there. The line in the movie that gives it the title is a quote from Bertie, Sandra Bullock's part. When you find yourself at a new beginning, she says, just give hope a chance to float up. Hmm. The movie was not that great to me, and I've forgotten most of the plot, but it's the name that stuck with me for years. Hope floats. It's a simple phrase, but it captures something deeply human. Life can feel heavy. Disappointment, exhaustion sets in. We're covered with grief or failure or uncertainty bothers our lives. And yet somehow people keep looking for hope, and truly, hope floats. Even in the darkest moments, we all cling to the belief that maybe things can get better. Maybe relief will come. Maybe healing is possible. And maybe tomorrow will be different. Certainly, it's going to be okay. Well, and that's exactly what we find in Genesis 5. By the time we reach verses 28 and 29, humanity is living under the weight of the curse from Adam's sin. Mankind is experiencing painful and often fruitless labor. It seems that the level of frustration is growing, it's not shrinking, and life is subject to death and full of brokenness. Well, that's actually a pretty good description of our world, isn't it? Even with all of our modern conveniences, people are always exhausted and plagued by burnout, stress, endless pressure, and constant noise. Everyone is looking for relief. Genesis 5 shows us this longing is nothing new. So let's dive into our text. I want to read today verses 28 through 31 of chapter 5. Here's what it says. Lamech was 182 years old when he fathered a son, and he named him Noah, saying, This one will bring us relief from the agonizing labor of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed. Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years. I know you're thinking, wow, these are really long years. Yeah, well, maybe we can talk about it sometime, but let me read on. Lamech lived 595 years after he fathered Noah, and he fathered other sons and daughters. So Lamech's life lasted 777 years. Then he died. Well, it's interesting that even though everyone knows who Noah was, few would remember Lamech, Noah's father. However, Lamech is one who'd be remembered, not only because he fathered the son who would save the dying world through faith and obedience, but also because he recognized this son's special calling and mission by giving him this special name, Noah. The Israel Institute for Biblical Studies says Noah's name has a very prophetic meaning indeed. You might know that this root in Hebrew means rest. And from Lamech's prophetic words, we understand that he saw in his son the one who would be the rest giver, the one who would provide deliverance and comfort from the curse. Well, we notice that Lamech tells us why he named his son Noah. He says, This one, speaking of his son, this one shall bring us relief. In other words, maybe this child will change things. Maybe hope still floats. Indeed, Noah would bring the world temporary relief. The world is broken, but hope refuses to sink. So today there's three observations that I'd like to note in this short paragraph that I think can really help us. First, observe that humanity was obviously feeling the weight of the curse. Brokenness had entered the world through sin. Lamech's words connect us directly back to Genesis 3. When God spoke to Adam, he warned of Adam's coming painful labor, his hardship and frustration and his death. He was moving from the comfort of Eden to a world that is now cursed. And now we see in this chapter, generations later, that only a few people, only a few generations later, and yet people were already experiencing the painful effects of sin. They were already crying out for relief from the weight of the curse. Now, thousands of years later, we still feel this today, don't we? We feel exhaustion, disappointment, broken relationships. We deal with anxiety and suffering and grief, and all of this is a product of a sin broken world. And we feel the weight of it. Second, notice that the human heart longs for relief. Genesis 529 says, This one shall bring us relief, Lamech cried out. Lamech hoped that Noah would bring rest. Lamech hoped Noah would somehow bring comfort. This gives us a very important truth, doesn't it? Even in the darkest of times, people still hoped that God would act. They were waiting and expecting God to bring relief to their situation. And even today, we're still constantly searching for relief. We try to find relief through vacations, through our financial successes, maybe through entertainment or relationships, and or maybe just a simple distraction. But temporary comforts we find cannot heal a spiritual curse. Earthly relief may refresh you temporarily, but only God can restore your soul. Only God can take what's wrong and make it right. Third, we should notice that here is a very important gospel place in Genesis. A gospel moment, as we've been calling them. Notice that Jesus is the greater Noah. The truth is you can find temporary relief in many ways, but only Christ brings lasting rest. You could compare life to trying to sleep during a storm. People try many ways to find relief from a frightening storm, don't we? We try noise machines or distractions or medications or even entertainment, but none of these are able to actually remove the storm itself. It just distracts from it. Jesus doesn't merely distract us from the storm of sin and brokenness, he calms it. Noah would eventually preserve humanity through the flood. Because of his faithfulness to build the ark, humanity survived. God preserved his promises and a new beginning came. But Noah was not the ultimate answer after all. Men still died. The world was still troubled. However, after the flood, sin did exist and brokenness remained to this day. Humanity still falls every day. Well, here's the good news. I believe Noah points us towards someone greater. Jesus is the true rest that we need. Noah's name means rest, but Jesus fulfills that longing for rest completely. In fact, in Matthew's gospel 1128, Jesus said to his followers, Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Then and now, Jesus provides rest from striving. He provides forgiveness from sin, an incredible peace with God, and hope that extends far beyond the curse. So let me close with this challenge and maybe a little application here. In light of today's passage, I find myself asking several questions of myself. Where am I searching for relief? What am I depending on for peace? Am I resting in Christ or merely escaping a storm temporarily? Am I resting in Christ or am I only temporarily distracted? As this becomes somewhat of the norm, as I read this passage in ponderous truth, I'm reminded of a song we sang in the very early days of the orchard. It's known simply as Daystar, and the last verse goes like this. So appropriate, it says, Lord, I've seen a world that's dying, wounded by the master of deceit, groping in the darkness, haunted by years of past defeat. But when I see you standing near me, shining with compassion in your eyes, I pray Jesus, shine down on me. Let your love shine through me in the night. Lead me, Lord, I'll follow.Anywhere you open up the door. Let your words speak to me, show me what I've never seen before. Lord, I want to be your witness. You can take what's wrong and make it right. You know why? Our hope floats because of Jesus. Lord, we confess that we often search for rest in temporary things. Thank you for sending the true source of peace and relief through Jesus Christ. Help us, Lord, to stop chasing empty comforts and distractions and to find our rest fully in you. Amen and amen.

SPEAKER_00 9:59

Thanks for joining us today. We are so glad that you chose to spend a few moments with us in God's Word. If this episode has encouraged you, we ask that you leave us a review or maybe share this episode with a friend. Also, would you consider sending us a note to let us know what God is doing in your life? Pastor Eddie would love to hear from you. You can find this email in the show notes. Until next time, stay in the scriptures, keep following Christ, and allow your life to be formed by the Word.