Hope RisesSample

The Bible says Noah was, “a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.” (Genesis 6:9). Sometimes it’s easy for us to read a description like that about a guy like Noah and think, “Of course he was a good person; he’s got a whole story about him written in the Bible!” But don’t take for granted what an incredible feat this was for Noah to live so closely to God in the culture he lived in.

In Genesis 6:11-13 God describes the world that Noah lived in as “corrupt” and “filled with violence.” By this time in God’s story, sin had spread rapidly out of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3), and had such devastating effects in people’s hearts and lives that God decided to “destroy all living creatures” (Genesis 6:13). People in that time were Godless, shameless, and reckless. It would have been a truly difficult world to live in! Yet, there stands Noah: righteous, blameless, and walking in close fellowship with God. He is a beacon of hope in an otherwise hopeless world—hope that people could be different and that sin doesn’t always have to win.

So God tells Noah to build a boat; He’s going to start fresh. He provides precise instructions on what this boat should look like (its size and dimensions) and how Noah is to use it (what gets a boarding pass and what doesn’t). And then the Bible says that, “Noah did everything as the Lord commanded Him.”

When it comes to finding hope in hopeless times, Noah gives us a great blueprint for how to break free:

1) He walked closely with God.

2) He did everything God asked of Him.

Easy, right? But how do we do that? Well, what you are doing RIGHT NOW is a great start. Opening God’s word, listening to how he’s worked throughout history and in the lives of others, can draw us into a closer walk with Him. Prayer, talking to God, is also a vital step. It’s also good to draw near to God in the presence of others—in a worship service or small group maybe—to find strength and encouragement.

What are some ways you’ve drawn close to God? Are you doing everything He is asking of you today?