Then the LORD said to Noah, "Come into the ark, you and your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation."
Society had fallen to such a state that there was only one man that God would deal with. If this one man was lost to the ways and dictates of his culture, God would have to destroy everything and begin again. But there was Noah. He was surrounded by sin and evil every which way he turned. Every relative, every friend, every acquaintance that Noah knew was sullied by the filthy hand of sin in their lives.
It must have been a lonely time for Noah. He still had his family and God was pouring grace on them because of Noah. Still, it must have been lonely. Noah saw the impending disaster that was headed their way. Nothing was going to stop it. Nothing was going to stand against it. It was as sure as the sun coming up. With this thought, Noah went about the business of building an Ark, per God's instructions. In other words, God said, "Do it my way!" No short cuts, not alterations....build as I have told you."
Then came that fateful day. Noah heard God say, "Come into the ark." He could have balked and told God, "Not yet, I'm not sure this is going to work." But he knew better. It didn't matter what his thoughts were........it didn't matter how he felt......nothing mattered except the one thought of "I either get in this ark and live, or I can stay outside and die with everyone else." Noah followed God and got into the ark. Inside was safety and peace. Outside was death and destruction.
Recovery is like that.
Through working the 12 steps and this new relationship you develop with Christ, you are building an "ark" that will serve you well. It will be a haven and a place of safety from the storms of life. Just like Noah, you can either decide to get with a program, or you can continue in your old ways, knowing that the end is not going to be good. Inside this "ark", in the person of Jesus Christ, there is safety and the opportunity for a fresh start. To have a new life and a new way of seeing life. Staying outside of this relationship only insures you of greater pain and misery wrought by your own hand and your own doings. I think I'd get with Jesus.
What you see above is the declaration that we say every day at the end of classes. It is just words. Anyone can say it. Anyone can read it. But to those who have made Jesus their Lord and Savior, it is a declaration of the Ark they have chosen to find safety in. Every thing is made possible because of the opening line.........Because of Christ's redemption....His desire to save us. His desire to see us brought into the safety of relationship was so strong that He paid the sin debt that I had accrued. He is the Ark. All I have to do is follow some simple instructions and a life that had eluded me would be mine to embrace.
I pray that this day becomes the day that you enter into this JESUS-ark. That you allow Him to raise you up, just as Noah's ark was done as the flood waters rose. Raise you up over your past as it is drowned under the tidal wave of forgiveness and His love.
Think on these things today!
God on you...
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