“But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of 150 days the waters had abated, and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.”
Genesis 8:1-5
“But God remembered…” Did God forget Noah and his family and the animals left floating on the ark for the last 5 months? Of course not. However, the translation of “remembered” simply carries the context that Noah was on God’s mind. God never forgot Noah, for His plans for the redemption of creation were always front of mind. Even when your circumstances seem to be their bleakest, God has you on His mind. When there seems to be no hope, no land in sight, no future to be seen, the Father has you in His sights.
“And God made a wind blow over the earth…” And the Father doesn’t just see you in your circumstances. He takes action by the power of His Spirit to make a way through. Sometimes, the way through is not always the way we think and isn’t always immediate, but you can rest assured that He is at work for your good and for His glory for His purposes.
“…and the waters subsided…and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.” As God shut up the “fountains of the deep” (geysers) and the “windows of the heavens” (clouds – rain), the waters began to subside. The mountains had been beneath the waters of the earth for 150 days, the summit of which was 22.5 feet below the surface of the waters. Now it has been postulated that the mountains as they are today were not as high as they were prior to the flood, and their height today is the result of both the flood and continuing tectonic activity ever since. That being said, for the earth to be covered in so much water that even the summits of the mountains were 22 feet below the surface of the water is simply unimaginable.
However, even in the midst of the devastation there is hope. As the waters rose up, the atmospheric concentration of oxygen would have risen with it – pushing air higher from the surface of the ground, making it possible for Noah and his family and the surviving animal kinds to breath and survive. As the waters began to abate, the heavier oxygen would also lower in proportion over the next seven and a half months, to allow time for acclimation before the ark would come to rest upon the mountains of Ararat, in modern day Turkey. However it wasn’t for another two and half months, before the tops of the mountains could be seen – ten months after the flooding stopped.
Sometimes God’s provision for your well-being and His glory isn’t immediately apparent. You may not necessarily see what He is doing for a long time. His promise may be sunk beneath a sea of His judgement and apparent destruction all around you, but you can rest assured that he will cause the waters to abate and the mountains to rise up and give you rest and a sure footing before releasing you from His “ark” of protection in the midst of the storm. There will be times that in your life the ark is simply where you wait and rest, waiting for His promise of release and renewal. And those times may seem to take forever, but be encouraged – His promises will not fail you. He is forever faithful to His word to redeem you for His glory.