The Prodigal Son by Rembrandt

But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible. – Genesis 8: 1-5 (NIV)

The timeline is very specific in this passage, much more specific that I realized or remembered.  What is God’s purpose in this narrative?  The part that stands out for me is that God “remembered” Noah.  I am confident that God remembers us as well when we feel like we are in the midst of an unending flood in our lives. The “floods” in our lives could be the death of a loved one, divorce, family dysfunction, illness, or many other seemingly overwhelming deluges of disappointment. It is comforting that God remembers, but from our perspective His remembering can seem to take really long. I can remember a time when, as a child , I was experiencing a “deluge”.  I remember crying out to God and wondering why God seemed to be taking so long to help me. Looking back now I can see his hand and love, even though it seemed like God had forgotten.  He remembered me then and I am confident he remembers me now.

The descriptive details of this passage are interesting.  The water’s were said to recede as a result of a wind that God sent over the earth.  I cannot help but see a connection between this wind and the Holy Spirit that will come later as a “wind” in Jesus’ disciples lives.  The “drying up” took quite a long time – more than ten months.  I suspect Noah and his family were beginning to wonder when it would end.

Prayer: Thank you God that you remember us in times of trial in our lives.  Grant us the patience and ability to wait on your wind to dry out to flood.