The door closed with such a loud sense of completeness , it was hard to believe it had ever been open. She could still remember her ears popped from the sense of vacuum created by the tenacious closing. It was already raining so hard that she, her husband, and her family had to shout at each other to be heard.
Uncanny was the silence below where the animals were housed. They seemed to be dwelling in the same quiet order they had been in when they were gathered and boarded on to the vessel. She looked out the tiny window and as far as her eye could see was nothing but water.
She thought of those early hours and days when the rain first started and hours blurred into days ,and midnight and morning seemed to exchange places. She had cried with deep wrenching sobs over the friends and family left behind because of their choice of unbelief. She shuddered thinking of those who had scornfully laughed at the project of the ark. Thumbing their nose at God’s warning.
The sobbing had subsided, only to be replaced by waves of warm broken- hearted tears as she thought of her beloved home..and the garden she had so diligently worked in. What she wouldn’t give for a handful of the earthy sandy soil she had sifted through planting vegetables. Ironically, she smiled thinking of the hard rocks she had dug out..would she ever see a rock again?
After the rain had stopped, and her doubts about it stopping had been arrested,she began to question what her life would be like now. Nothing about any of this resembled her former life. Day after day, she came to the tiny window looking out where water surrounded her on all sides, pouring her heart out to God to give her hope, vision to move forward. Strength to find a beginning where everything ran together in a circle. Would life ever faintly resemble anything she was familiar with? Would there be another garden ? Would the water recede to reveal even the soil to plant one in? She prayed God would give her the faith to trust Him with what seemed like a bleak future as she gazed at the gray horizon where water and sky met.
This is an excerpt from a devotion I wrote as God met me and comforted me when I needed hope. Most of us are not aboard an ark but we are in a time where isolation from a disaster has deeply erased our sense of normalcy.
Many of us longing for what has been and fearful it will not be again. Waking with wondering what day it is and falling asleep with restless dreams of strangers in masks and ventilators.
Lots of us sitting at desks with computers, calculators, and checkbooks absolutely of the conviction that survival looks ominous as retirement and safety net savings dwindle. Fulfillment and identity from jobs has proven to be a fair weather friend at best. Worst of all , many have been lost from the ravages of virus stored in strange places and buried at even stranger funerals.
We look out our windows like Noah’s wife and despite that we don’t see flooding waters, we are drowning in bad news. Many will not even acknowledge the fear but oh its there..we saw glimpses of it in the toilet paper and meat market aisles.
I remember after 911, our church was filled to capacity that Wednesday night. People looking for one solution. Peace…a lifeboat to climb in where safety is guaranteed. A place where fear is swallowed by hope. Jesus, himself told us..
“In this world, you will have trouble , but be of good cheer for I have overcome “. Christ does not call us to cheer over the trouble, but He offers joy that there is a solution. He offers new normals everyday. He acknowledges the old has passed away, but has a blueprint for the future. A relationship with Him where my fears, losses, finances, health, are all His top priorities. Where if I never work again, I have an identity and fulfillment. In Him, the creator of the big blue marble itself. He took nothing and made something from it. God doesn’t need the virus to pass, or the economy to turn around to work on behalf of his children.
There is no “situation” room where He dwells. He doesn’t need a briefing or an update. See, we know from scripture and history that dry land finally appeared to Noah and his family. A rainbow presented itself to confirm God’s promise that hope could be found and joy could triumph. I met someone who told me they thought the Bible was fables and faith but a crutch. Such a sad outlook from their window.
Me….today with God’s strength and peace, I’m facing rain but I know a bright future awaits, even if I can’t see it. The challenge of faith is believing when you can’t see.
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