In Genesis 8 there is a beautiful picture of the relationship between God and Noah. There is a beautiful back and forth of love and respect. There is a mixture of remembering, waiting, praising and promising. God Remembering 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. Gen. 8:1 NIV In the King James Study Bible (Thomas Nelson, 1988) it highlights that the fact that God “remembered” does not mean that God forgot Noah. The specific word here indicates “the special attention or personal care God gives to His own”. This verb is used in the same way concerning Samson (Judg. 16:28); Hannah (1 Sam. 1:11); Abraham, for Lot’s benefit (Gen. 19:29); on behalf of Israel (Ex. 2:24); and for the repentant thief on the cross (Luke 23:42). This is a beautiful section of scripture that highlights that God sees his children and will specifically care for each of their needs. Noah Waiting 15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. 17 Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it.” 18 So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. Gen. 8: 15-18 NIV Before Noah heard God tell him to come out of the ark, Noah sent birds out and was watching to see when the faithful moment would be that he would be able to exit the ark. Even though the ways he was watching were increasingly giving him the answer that the ground was drying he did not rely on what he was seeing, or even what the animals communicated by not coming back to the ark; instead, Noah waited on God. It is very hard to wait for an answer when many times we feel we see clear signs of that answer and/or have others telling us the direction to go. Noah Praising 20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. Gen. 8:20 NIV The first things Noah did as he exited the ark was to build an alter to the Lord. Noah was taking his first moments on dry land to show his appreciation and praise to God! A beautiful way to highlight the relationship between him and God. God Promising 21 The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though[a] every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done. 22 “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” Gen. 8: 21-22 We wonder if Noah was concerned that the rains would come again one day…Would he have to build another ark… Instead, God smelled Noah’s sacrifice and God promised that He would never destroy the earth or living things again; and as long as the earth endures, day and night would never cease.This beautiful picture of the relationship between Noah and God shows such love and respect. I encourage you to think through situations in your life today. Even situation where you are waiting to see the salvation of the Lord manifest. I encourage you to think where are you with your relationship? Are you waiting for God’s special care and attention, are you praising God through this situation, are you reflecting on the promises of God? If not, I encourage you to be inspired by God and Noah’s relationship! ~Kelly____________________________________________________________________________________Kelly Saylor is a licensed Christian counselor that specializes in marriage and family counseling and mental health counseling. She is also the co-founder of SureHope Counseling & Training Center and offers trainings to individuals, couples, churches and church staffs. If you would like to learn more or have any further questions you can reach Kelly Saylor at Kelly.s.counseling@gmail.com or at 980-272-8180.

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