God was sorry he made man. Wickedness ruled, and men were more interested in pleasing themselves than pleasing God. On all the earth, there was only one man who still worshipped God and placed his faith with God. And that was Noah. It's very clear that Noah had faith in God once he started building the ark. A giant boat to hide from the rain in a land that had never seen rain. It took Noah years to build the ark- many, many years, and despite the ridicule he certainly faced from his peers and colleagues, he continued to follow God's direction. That is a major leap of faith!
Of course, just as God said it would, the floods came and covered the earth- 22 feet above the highest mountain top! Think for a second about how much water that is- the circumference of the earth was actually different for a time! And then it took 150 days for the waters to recede and for God to re-make the earth. When Noah and his family and the animals left the ark, the first thing they did was perform a sacrifice to God to thank him for a second chance. God gave them a new promise that we still have with us today. God promised to never again destroy the whole earth and all living things. He promised day and night, summer and winter, and planting and harvest.
"Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose. 21 And the Lord was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice and said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent toward evil from childhood. I will never again destroy all living things. 22 As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.” Genesis 8:20-22
What I love the most about the story of Noah is the promise of a new beginning. New beginnings are always exciting and just a little bit scary- you never know what is going to come of a new beginning. And just as God gave Noah and his family the opportunity to start over in a new world, he gives us the opportunity to start over every single day. Every day we can wake up and love God all over again and do our best to live that day in a Godly manner. Many, many days we fail as humans. There are many days where I look back at my day and I think that was not a great day. I was not the best Mommy to my kids or I spent too much time with that book today, or I did nothing to glorify God today. But then I get to go to bed and wake up with a whole new day and another chance to live life right.
Every day is a new chance, and the best part is this is a new day for everyone. Whether you are 5 or 95, today is a new chance to give today to God. Regardless of how bad yesterday was, it's in the past and doesn't matter today. God loves us and wants to give us as many chances as we can to give our lives to him. Every day we have that chance for a new beginning, a fresh start. And while Noah took that fresh start and built a massive boat that took him many, many years, God just wants to help us build a new life that is pleasing to him.
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