Devotion on Genesis 7 - High Above the Earth

Scripture: Genesis 7:17-18

For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. ¹⁸ The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water.

In the last paragraph of Genesis 7, destruction comes. A world that has never seen rain (Genesis 2:5) is Flooded. All people, all animals, all trees, all mountains are drowned beneath the violent waves.

But not Noah and his family. For them, the Flood has the opposite effect. Instead of destroying and bringing them down to the depths of the ocean, it raises them up. "As the waters increased, they lifted the ark high above the earth. The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water."

To me, this is a poignant picture of what God does for all of us in the difficulties of life if we allow Him to. As believers in a faithful and redeeming God, we don't have to let the troubles of life overwhelm and bury us. We don't have to let failures or temptations drag us down. With God's help, we can rise above our situations and trials. He can lift us up "high above the earth" in our spirits as we take the high ground over the mundane and temporary things of this passing-away world.

What has you down today?

How is God calling you to rise above it? How can you, with God's help, turn that situation to your good?

With Noah, let us say, "Let trouble come, and watch us float on top of it."