Praying To Be Faithful People, Willing To Stand Strong for god When Others Fall Into Sin

God made a beautiful world and brought Adam and Eve to live in the garden with Him and to fellowship with Him each day.   Sadly, as we know, they very quickly listened to the voice of the evil one and believed His twist on God’s word and ended up falling into sin.

We mentioned yesterday about how Jesus taught that we should be careful of even a little bit of sin because just as a bit of yeast can impact a whole batch of dough, so a little bit of sin can rapidly multiply. We can see this principle lived out in the early chapters of the Bible sin spread down through the generations after Adam and Eve.   

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.  Genesis 6:5-8

It’s a very sad statement that people then had moved so far away from God that God had to take drastic action. 

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.  Genesis 6:5-6

It’s a very sad statement today that people and nations have rejected God and decided to use their own thoughts about life and personal freedom to make rules and laws that clearly go against God’s revealed truth.  I wonder what will need to happen for people to turn their hearts again to God and for nations to repent and leave their arrogance and sinful ways behind? 

We can only hope that events like this pandemic and it’s spread across the earth and the threat of this kind of thing happening again might cause some people to consider the brokenness that threatens human life.  While global warming is on everyone’s mind and behind many government decisions, the real threat to people on this planet is their stubborn refusal to bend their knees and hearts to the one true and living God.

So, amid all the sadness and darkness and evil, one bright light.  Thank God for candles in the darkness.

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.  Genesis 6:8

Wow!  We need to be both encouraged and challenged by Noah.  While the whole world turned away from God and did evil, Noah stood strong.  He bucked the trends and faithfully said and did what was right. 

We need to ask ourselves if we are doing the same in our time as things across the earth spin out of the orbit of God’s grace and saving help and under the influence of evil one, we see signs of things imploding on themselves.  Are we trusting God?  Are we knowing and living God’s truth?  Are we living with respect and courage as we confront evil and unrighteous ideas and behaviours and laws?  Noah didn’t hide away.  He lived among the people of His time, staying strong, remaining full of the power of God.  Are we?

Secondly, Noah challenges us today because after all the risks he was already taking, God asks Noah to do something that seemed ridiculous beyond ridiculous – build this huge ark because God was going to send rain – a huge rain that would result in a flood.  As far as we know there had not been rain before so God was speaking things to Noah and asking for things that were costly both in time and materials that were preposterous.  If you read on you will find that it took about 100 years for Noah to build the ark, so imagine keeping faith strong in the middle of ugly sin rampaging the earth as you raise up what to many seems like monstrosity in your back yard, in anticipation of something that has never happened before?

Are we willing to be Noah in our day?

Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Psalm 36:5

Oh Lord, we are so timid and we so lack the courage to stand up for big things in our time.  You are a great God whose love reaches to the heaven and whose faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.  There’s no end to Your truth and Your knowledge of what’s going on and what is coming.  We so need to be people who put our total reliance on You and align our every thought and action with that truth.

Help us God, in these compromised and evil times, to stand up for truth and find favour in Your eyes.  We affirm again today that if You said it in Your word, that’s truth.  How You said we should manage our money, our power, our relationships, our careers, our politics – all of it – Your way is the right way.

We simply agree today with Your word that says:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.   “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.  Isaiah 55:8-11

Raise up the same Spirit in us today that empowered Noah to be Your person and to do Your will in His time.