…and God remembered Noah

“But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and He sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.” Genesis 8:1 (NIV)

In Genesis 7, Noah went into the ark with his family, animals and livestock according to the very detailed instructions he had previously received from God. After they entered the ark, God sent a fierce rain that wiped out all life and flooded the earth for 150 days. God had already determined to carry out judgment on the inhabitants of the earth, but chose to save Noah and his family because of Noah’s righteousness.  Prior to entering the ark, I imagine that Noah would have lived a life that depended a lot on outdoors activities; farming, hunting and so on. Living in close quarters with his entire family and a whole bunch of animals for months on end would not have been a pleasant experience. But it did not last forever - after living in the ark for so long, God remembered Noah and sent a wind over the earth.

However, the waters did not disappear in one day – when God sent the wind, some things had to happen before the waters gradually subsided. While in the ark, Noah could not see what God was doing on his behalf…he had an idea, and he could actually see the outside from a little window in the ark but he did not see the whole picture. In verse 7, he sent out a raven, which flew back and forth and didn’t return to the ark. He then decided to send out a dove and after a couple of tries, the dove found a place to nest and did not return to the ark. Then, Noah finally removed the covering of the ark and was able to see for himself what God had done. It took a while, but the earth which had been so flooded that no life could thrive had finally dried.

Noah was 600 years old when he entered the ark and 700 when the waters dried and he was able to come out.

Many of us encounter situations that keep us locked in, restrained and restricted…unable to do all the things we desire to accomplish and become…like Noah, we sometimes see a little bit but God sees the big picture. He will surely remember us even as he remembered Noah and He is even now working on our behalf. Trust Him, He will remember YOU!

Onyih Odunze