AGAINST THE TIDE

"These are the family records of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries; Noah walked with God. ...Then the Lord said to Noah, 'Enter the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you [alone] are righteous before Me in this generation.'" (Genesis 6:9, 7:1 HCSB)

You think you have it rough!

What about Noah? How hard was it for him to stand for God? He had to stand alone! He had no church where he could meet with other believers for encouragement. There was no Christian radio to listen to, no internet where he might read a daily devotional--none of the resources we have at our disposal to buttress our faith. Yet, he stood against the tide. Before the flood came in judgment, and God scoured the earth clean of its spiritual and moral filth, a tide of utter depravity had already swept across the planet. Every waking moment of every day, Noah had to stand against the tide.

It wasn't easy. It never has been. If you purpose to live holy in this ungodly age, you are going to face great pressure--increasingly so. Jesus warned that one sign which would mark the nearness of His return and the judgment to follow would be conditions as those Noah endured. Isn't that what our world is looking like, more and more? A tsunami of evil is surging around us. But, we can stand against the tide. We must. Noah did!

All Noah had was God--but, He is enough! As the Apostle John declared, "You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." (1 John 4:4 HCSB). There was an inner strength that flowed from the grace of God within Noah, unleashed by faith, built by a daily walk with God. If you walk with God, you are going against the tide.

It was a difficult path, but it brought him into the ark--and Noah brought his family with him--all of them! You think it tough to raise godly kids today? Imagine the challenges Mr. and Mrs. Noah faced! But they did it--and God will help us. He will stand by us, if we stand with him. When the screams of those outside the ark were only silenced by the rushing water and rumbling thunder, Noah looked around at his family huddled near him--warm, dry, secure--and was thankful to God that by His grace he had stood against the tide.