Ep. 78 | The Long Wait | Genesis

Listen in as Pastor Eddie Blalock shares today’s daily devotional featuring Genesis 8:1-5. 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

Genesis chapter 8, verses 1 through 5. God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and livestock with him in the boat. He sent a wind to blow across the earth, and the floodwaters began to recede. The underground waters stopped flowing, and the torrential rains from the sky were stopped. So the flood waters gradually receded from the earth. After a hundred and fifty days, wow, exactly five months from the time the flood began, the boat came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. Two and a half months later, as the waters continued to go down, other mountain peaks became visible. You know, Noah's story is often remembered in children's books, but the real account is anything but cute. God calls for Noah to build an ark long before any sign of disaster was coming. There's no cheering crowd, there's no visible proof of danger, and no sign that judgment is near. Faithfulness for Noah meant years of costly obedience in a world that saw no need for it whatsoever. Scripture tells us that Noah acted by faith, trusting what God said even when it made no sense. You see, faithfulness is not easy, quick, or glamorous. In fact, faithfulness is often just slow obedience, often in the face of misunderstanding or even ridicule. Yet Noah's faithful obedience made it possible to preserve mankind from utter destruction. Listen, make no mistake, Noah is not the hero of the story. God is. Noah walked with God, but God carried the story. What Noah learned in his experience is much the same for us. Faithfulness is not easy. Faithfulness will not always be simple or straightforward. In fact, it may be costly or even feel confusing, but the God who remembered Noah is the same God who remembers his people today. He judges evil because he loves us. He saves sinners because he's gracious to us, and he invites us to trust him even when obedience feels hard because he wants to bless us. If you think back to our first podcast in Genesis, we learned that in the beginning, God created a perfect world. Sin entered that world through Adam and was passed through the generations that followed. And when we got to the chapter, the seventh chapter of Genesis, the flood begins, and when the flood begins, creation is undone. Water bursts from below and pours from above. The earth returns to the chaotic state that was described in Genesis 1. And instead of a world full of life blessing, there was violence and corruption that bring death. This is what sin always produces. Don't ever forget that sin destroys, harms, and unravels God's beautiful design. Throughout Scripture, we're reminded that the end result of sin is always judgment. A God who cares about justice cannot ignore sin, and sin always ends in death. In Romans 6 23, Paul wrote, The wages of sin is death. That is, what sin earns, the rightful pay for sin, he says, is death. But then he adds the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. So even in the midst of judgment, Scripture highlights God's grace. In chapter 6, God tells Noah to enter the ark. Not because Noah earned salvation, but because God provided it. Noah is simply obedient. But again, he's not the hero. In fact, Noah never even once speaks in the entire flood narrative. He doesn't plead for mercy, he doesn't offer dramatic prayers or express relief when the rain finally stops. The text directs our attention away from Noah's performance and aims it right toward God in his grace and faithfulness. Don't ever forget, God is the hero of the story of Noah's Ark. God is the one who warns and the one who rescues. Now in Genesis 7, God tells Noah to enter the ark. For over a year Noah had obeyed God. He built the ark, he endured the flood, he watched the world he knew disappear beneath the waters, and then came the waiting. Ah, the waiting. None of us like to wait, but Noah waited. Day after day, week after week, month after month, he just floated on the waters and waited. And in the middle of that waiting, Genesis 8 gives us one of the most hopeful and wonderful statements in Scripture. It simply says, But God remembered Noah. Have you ever been at a place where you just felt like God forgot about you? You're just floating along, you're just there, and yet you're waiting and waiting. Has God forgotten me? But God remembered Noah. In Scripture, when God remembers, it doesn't mean he forgot. It means that he's about to act on behalf of his people. For example, in Genesis 19, the scripture says God remembered Abraham. In Genesis 30, it says God remembered Rachel. In Exodus 2, God remembered Israel and Egypt. But here in our story, God remembered Noah. At the right time, God sent the wind and the waters began to recede, and slowly life returned. Dry ground appeared eventually, and when Noah finally stepped out of the ark, the first thing he did was build an altar and worship. You see, Noah knew that God truly is the hero of the story. The message seems clear to me. Sin can never stop God's purposes. In our story, we see that judgment falls, but grace continues. We see that God preserves humanity, restores creation, and gives a sinful world another beginning. So for us, at least one valuable lesson is that salvation is not something that we humans achieve. It's something that God provides. Therefore, we're not the hero. God is the hero. You know, there are moments in life when everything feels like it's just too much, right? Situations pile up, answers seem delayed, progress feels slow, we just feel overwhelmed. Like Noah, we may feel stuck in a season of waiting, wondering if things will ever change. We're just kind of floating along. Has God forgotten us? Noah knew the flood had come because God said it would, but Noah had no idea when it would end. Imagine looking out that ark window every day and seeing nothing but water. No timeline, no schedule, no visible progress, just floating, just waiting. Sometimes faith is not built in the ark, sometimes faith is waiting inside of it. So let's just make this relevant for a moment with a couple of thoughts of application. One, I think we learn from this text that God sees us even when nothing seems to be happening. We may not know it, but God is working. You see, often God works behind the scenes before change ever becomes visible. So remember, God's in control of your life. Even when your life feels overwhelming. Flood was not random. The timing was not accidental. God controlled the rain. God controlled the waters, the wind, and even the moment when the earth was ready for a new beginning, what looked like chaos was still under God's total control and authority. Never forget that, my friends. God's timing is purposeful, not careless. Just as the flood did not last forever, neither will your difficult season. So where's obedience currently difficult in your life? And what might it look like to trust God in that specific place? Well, here's a takeaway for you today from this text. Remember, chaos does not cancel God's control. He is still sovereign. Heavenly Father, thank you for showing grace even when judgment is deserved. Thank you for remembering Noah and for remembering me. Jesus, help me trust you when obedience feels costly or confusing. And Lord, give me the courage to walk faithfully and the humility to depend on your grace always. Amen and amen.

SPEAKER_00 8:51

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.