Genesis 7:11(b), 12 “. . . all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.”
Observation: Noah and his sons had worked faithfully on the ark for decades, doing “all that the Lord commanded him.” (v. 5) Once finished, he and his wife, their sons and daughters-in-law entered the ark followed by a docile procession of every living thing God had drawn to the unfamiliar vessel. Seven days later, all heaven, literally, broke loose.
Application: Think for a moment of the image portrayed next: springs of the great deep burst forth, suggesting nothing less than unimaginable violence beneath men’s feet, a roiling, churning explosion of water coming from deep earth fissures in all directions. The great deep held an immeasurable reservoir of water hitherto unknown, released in an instant in worldwide cataclysmic explosion spewing forth as pressurized steam might burst from pipes.
At the same time, heaven’s floodgates above were opened. No normal rain, this, falling without end ‘til docile rivers became mighty torrents. No, this deluge from above must have been at least initially akin to standing under Niagara’s falls.
Overwhelmed, knocked down and swept along, this event surely had the feel of a tsunami. No one had time to cobble together materials into a raft and grab fishing lures. In the midst of such horrific panic, do I suppose anyone peered from ‘neath his umbrella at the bus stop to muse, “I wonder how long this’ll last?” Then, after these initial catastrophes, it rained still more, for forty days and forty nights.
What is it about my heart that makes me think I could float calmly through God’s disciplines without devastating consequences? My tendency, like Noah’s neighbors’, is to ignore warning signs. So I squirrel away a secret supply of this or that, not realizing that all of it will be swept from reach when life’s storms overtake. Roiling financial markets, devastating plumes of medical crises, the overpowering flood of fear in the face of an abandoning spouse . . . these things suddenly cast asunder my most careful plans. My prideful heart pursues bigger and better, while His still, small voice within simply whispers, “Come unto Me.” “Rest in Me.” “Cease striving.”
Prayer: Father, my heart all these years after the flood is still filled with springs of the great deep able to burst forth without warning. These still hold the potential to terrify and overwhelm. Only You can preserve me through the ravages of such storms. I gladly choose to hide in You.