The LORD then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. – Genesis 7:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (February 25, 2012): Genesis 7

Sometimes I know more about people’s lives then I really want to. I seem to get to see them in their worst moments – those times when everything seems to be falling apart and they think the world is standing against them. And the thing that I hate the most is that often I know the secret of avoiding their situation, and it is the last thing that they want to hear. Often our worst moments are made better or worse by what has come in the time immediately before – but we don’t want to hear that. When things are going good, we think they will always be that way. And, therefore, we fail to prepare for those times when things go bad.

For Noah, things were about to go very bad. But Noah had worked very hard during the good times. He had been ridiculed by the culture that thought that the good times would never end, but that hadn’t stopped him. He built an Ark that would end up being his salvation when the good times finally ended. But he didn’t enter the Ark until God told him to. At each step he followed the instructions of his God, never settling for a short cut. But when the time came, God called and Noah was ready. It is a repeating theme in the bible. When the instructions of God are followed, even when we don’t understand the reasons why, then we are ready for the worst.

For us, in our modern culture, that means doing things according to God’s plan for us. Things like getting involved in a small group, building social connections within our worship services, and living within the means of what we earn are just some of the ways that we get to build our Ark for the time when the worst arrives.

And, against the individuality of our culture, the story of Noah also shows that a righteous man can be the salvation of his family. Noah’s family was saved by Noah’s righteousness. And so are ours. We can’t wait for the bad to happen. The key to surviving the worst is living the way that God directs us when times are good.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 8