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2.1.16

What if Noah had Given Up?

Faith.

That’s what has kept us alive. Think back to Genesis: to a humanity so corrupt God decided to wipe it all out. To Noah and his family and the beloved bedtime story of the ark. Think back to what you didn’t understand as a child: the why.

Why did God have Noah build the ark? Why, if God wanted to wipe out the human race because it was so corrupt, did people survive? Human nature didn’t change. It stayed selfish and evil. So why does it look like God made the same mistake twice?


Because there was a man with faith so strong it saved the human race. He held onto the hope of Jesus when literally no one else did. He was alone, standing strong on a single rock—his faith in God. Noah knew. Every morning he woke up thinking of what life in community with other Christians and God himself would be like. He knew that’s what he had to work for.

He had to fight every day. To do the right thing. To get up each morning and pursue joy. Every day, every second, he had to hurl himself at God—or give up and melt in with the rest. And Noah found favor with God.

But imagine a world where the story of one man was tweaked ever so slightly. One day, in the middle of the deep dark struggle, a man gave up. With a sigh, he dropped his faith on the ground and walked away. Because of that, Noah wouldn't have found favor with the Lord.

No ark. No connection with God. A flood with no survivors.

No olive leaf. No hope.

If  Noah had given up, the human race would’ve been wiped out ages ago. Our beautiful story wouldn’t have continued onward.

But Noah didn’t give up. He pursued our Lord every day with desperate hope. He stumbled, maybe even fell. Yet he got up. He dusted himself off and kept walking on the path toward God. When God told him to build a crazy ark to survive, Noah obeyed. His faith was true and strong in the hope we now have. He knew redemption was on its way.

The same goes for us. We weary sinners, waiting for the return of our Lord. In the midst of a world that can't wait and spits in the face of God, we're still. Our faith remains strong. As we wait, our stories unfold, weaving out a tapestry of all life. From the beginning to now.

This story—our story—there isn't one that's more important. And to make it the best story we can, we need faith. So, my friend, don't give up your faith in God. It's too precious to let go. Hold on to his hand. He's there, I promise. Let him weave your story in with mine, in with everyone's.

You have a beautiful story. So keep going. Stand against the waves beating you down. Stand like Noah did, firm in God. Your story is meant to fly, just like a dove, carrying the hope of an olive leaf.

Rebekah

6 comments:

  1. Dear Rebekah,

    Hiiiii. :D Abbiee here. First off, I want to say thank you so much for stopping by my blog and saying hello! Comments mean so much to me. Aaaand thank you for doing a button swap with me! You are obviously a super cool person for wanting my face on your sidebar. ;) like, omg. thank you. (bonus...off? idek: I really like the way your name is spelled it's SO PRETTY.)

    Second off, this POST. Okay, so ack. TOO MANY THINGS TO SAY AND NO WORDS. You know what I mean? When I was little, I remember being afraid of thunderstorms. And when I'd pray for them to end, I thought that if I prayed about it more than once than that meant I didn't really believe the first time I prayed. But how I see it now is that prayer is what brings us to that place of trust. You REALLY have to trust in a God who tells you to build a giant ark and climb inside of it whilst the rest of the world is wiped out. I mean...wow. That does take a lot of faith. BASICALLY THIS STORY has like SO MANY DIMENSIONS TO IT. ugh.

    "Your story is meant to fly, just like a dove, carrying the hope of an olive leaf." < THAT. is beautiful. YOU are beautiful, you beautiful soul. :) So glad I found your blog. ^.^

    love,
    abbiee

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    1. Hey, Abbiee! Aw, you're sooo welcome! I love your blog! ♥ Thank YOU for doing the button swap with ME! Psh. Your face is beautiful. Of course I'd want it on my sidebar! Hehe, thanks! I personally like the way my name is spelled, too. ;)

      Yup. I did something pretty similar when I was a kid. :P Yes! Agreed! There would be SO MUCH trust that would need to happen to do what Noah did. It really does have a lot of dimensions to it!

      Yeah, that's like, my favorite part of the whole post. :) Hope + imagery = happy Rebekah. Aw, thank you so, so much Abbiee! That means a lot to me. ♥

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  2. This is such a good message! I have your button making my page look awesome! Thank you for reaching out to mee!
    Vanessa

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  3. Thanks so much, Vanessa! Yaaaay! You're so welcome! ♥

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  4. eeek! i just stumbled upon your blog through a different blog, and, first off, your name <3 so so pretty.
    hehe, but your blog is so cool. honestly, this post is actually really inspiring. noah had such strong faith. i talk about faith all the time sure, but the kind of faith noah had is out of this world. amazing.
    also you do photography? that's so cool. <3

    -autumn

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    Replies
    1. Awww, Autumn, thank you so much! I love the way my name is spelled. My parents were pretty cool for doing that. I'm glad it was inspiring! That's my goal. :) It really was. He was AMAZING. I am a photographer! It's one of my favorite art forms. :)

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