“These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” (Genesis 6 v 9)
The name means ‘rest’ and his father named him so in Genesis 5, 27 prophesying that, “He will comfort us in the labour and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.”
This was a reset moment through Noah.
Noah was in a force nine gale of corruption, where ‘every intention of the thoughts of the heart (of that generation) was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). He was in a storm, not supported by the generation he lived in. He lived amongst evil people. He wasn’t a hermit. He lived in a generation that had turned its back against God, yet he walked with God and was blameless for his generation’s corruption.
That makes him alone.
That means friends, neighbours, and people around him misunderstood him. That means courage to make decisions that are not only counter-cultural but dangerous.
Perhaps you, too, have to make courageous decisions that are right before you and God. Others may not understand, and you may be talked about, but you have to do it.
This doesn’t mean it will be easy or pleasant. We are not told whether Noah and his sons were content. Sometimes obedience isn’t enjoyable. But with Noah, there is more: he walked with God. Like Enoch, his great-grandfather, this was not just obedience; it was an intimate relationship that would impact his next generation of sons.
The reset moment is an incredible story, and I am going to enjoy writing about it.
The reset moment is the rest needed. Is that what God is calling for you today?
Are you in a perfect storm right now? Multiple problems seem to be happening all at the same time. If so, your obedience is crucial. You may feel alone, people may speak about you behind your back, but you choose courage. Blameless in your generation that is corrupt at its core doesn’t mean you are superhuman, perfect in all your ways. We will find out that is certainly not true for Noah. But you are walking with God. You are trying to do what is right in the context of wrongdoing.
Missions Paul 