Going with THE Flow

Written by Jennifer B.

Do you ever feel like you are the only one trying to serve God?  Do you feel alone when you take a stand for what is right?  Are you tempted to give in and go with the flow?  You are not alone!  I feel the same way even around those who claim to be Christians.  It is not easy to be around people who do not serve God or have a desire to talk about Christ with the same vigor that I do.  Sometimes I feel like compromising.  A few times, I’ve wondered if living in the “world” would be more fun.

But what I think and feel is no big deal.  In a few months you may forget everything I just wrote because my life is so small compared to others’ lives.  So let’s talk about someone we all know and who has had these same thoughts.  Someone whose life will be forever remembered because he chose to leave the wicked world behind—literally.  Yet at the same time, this man went with the flow.

I think that the world he lived in was a lot like ours.  There was lots of hatred, selfishness, and lusting among everyone.  Just like today, everyone continuously thought of wicked things and only cared about pleasing the flesh.  God-fearing people were very few.  So few that God only mentioned eight.  You might have guessed who it is by now.  Yes, it is Noah.

Noah served God alone with his family.  He didn’t have anyone on this earth to encourage him to follow God and keep his heart pure.  There weren’t any Christian groups he could feel comfortable in.  It was just Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their wives.

I’m sure it was not easy, because he was human just like us.  He was not perfect.  Do you remember reading about the time after the flood when he made wine and got drunk?  He sinned just like we do.  He probably wanted to give up at some point and just go with the flow of the wicked world around him.  But instead he chose to follow God and make himself do what was right.  Following is an action, not just a thought.

We all know the story well.  God wished he had never made earth and mankind because it was nothing but wickedness.  But Noah found grace in the sight of the LORD!  Why?  It was because Noah was determined to put God first.  In return God spared Noah and his family . . . but that wasn’t so easy for Noah.  Can you imagine what was going through his head when God told him to build an ark because it was going to flood?  There had not been any rain at this point as Genesis 2:5-6 states, “...for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth...”  Now all of a sudden there is going to be a flood?  And what about this HUGE boat?  I imagine that Noah looked a little out of the ordinary building that big thing.  I must say, following God in a very wicked world is pretty remarkable, but obeying God in this matter is something entirely on a higher level.  But Noah did it.  He built the ark just like God told him and was spared from being drowned by the enormous amount of water.  Noah went with THE flow of God’s flood according to God’s will.

The Bible says in Luke 17:26, “And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.”  Sometimes I look around and wonder how much longer God will allow this wickedness to go on.  The world and Christians have gone so far away from God it seems like all the imaginations of the heart of man is evil continually.  Do we tell God, “It’s too hard! I can’t serve you alone!”?  Or do we follow Noah’s example and serve God anyway?  The last part of this month’s theme Scripture says, “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (I John 2:17).  Dear girls, this world is going to pass away.  Lust, selfish pleasure, and material gain are going to pass away, not by a flood but by the return of our LORD Jesus Christ.  Living for God and following Him in everything is the only thing that matters in this world.  It may be hard at times, but (as a friend used to say) your retirement will be out of this world!

When you feel like it is too hard to love God and forsake the things of this world, remember Noah. Leave your own desires and wants behind and go with THE flow!

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This page was last modified on Thursday, September 02, 2010