It was the first time the world had ever experienced rain. Up until this time in history, the earth had been covered with a canopy of moisture to nourish and sustain it. When God finally lifted it, it was as if He was releasing an accumulation of His own tears onto His creation.  The storm covered every living thing with complete destruction.

God is so patient. He waited a long time to let those tears fall.  Eventually all the abuse towards Him became more than apparent. He finally had enough. He needed to give His creation a wakeup call. When He ordered the man to build the ark that would carry Noah and his entire family, along with two of every species of all living things, He knew that at least part of His original creation would remain. A fresh start was planned for the only family on earth that still believed and trusted in God. He would eliminate the rest. Through this remnant, He would repopulate the earth with new life. He gave the people time to come and ask for forgiveness – to repent for their evil deeds – to leave their life of sin and return to Him, but it went unheeded. Noah and his family were the only human beings that knew God meant business, so they followed His instructions and survived.

When the time was right, the storms came. God spared no one except the Noah clan. One thing remained within that family. Though they were devout and honored God, they still carried their original sin – inherited from Adam and Eve. No amount of cleansing on their part, could possibly wash that sin away. Still God made a new world for them. He provided for their every need and stayed with them for the rest of their lives.

We continue to face storms in our lives every day.  We worry, we get angry and frustrated, we give up, we lose patience.  This world, even with all its beauty and splendor, is an ugly place. Sometimes we feel that the cloud hanging over us will never pass.  Life can be an ongoing storm if we let it. When Jesus suffered and died on the cross, he healed the split between His Father and us.  Because of His resurrection, our deep contusions and abrasions have been eliminated.  Through His passion we have been washed in the flood of forgiveness.  Now when storms come into our lives and it looks like they will never end, we can rejoice and dance in the rain. Thanks be to God for giving us the final victory through His only begotten Son.

“So they shall fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come like a rushing stream, which the wind of the Lord drives.” Isaiah 59:19 ESV