There are days when it just seems to me that I am immersed in a culture that has rejected the Lord. Yesterday was one of those days. I came home from work dejected. It seemed like every person I had interacted with that day was committed wholeheartedly to his own destruction, as completely and quickly as possible. Elijah felt that way in chapter 19 of 1 Kings. And like Elijah, I failed to acknowledge that I am not alone. You see, Obadiah had hidden 100 prophets in caves because he "feared the Lord greatly" (1 Kings 18:3). But, days like yesterday serve to remind us that lawlessness will continue to increase on the Earth, and as it increases we have to be ready.
Gentlemen, maybe you have felt the way I did yesterday. In all honesty, I just wanted to close myself in with my family and leave the world outside to its own fate. But if God's people did that, where would I be?
The Almighty God alone closed the door of the ark. Noah did not wish for the judgement of those around him. Instead, he was "a preacher of righteousness," (2 Peter 2:5) in a world where "every intent of the thoughts" of the hearts of men "was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5). "By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, having become reverent prepared an ark for the salvation of his household" (Hebrews 11:7a). As we raise our households in such a way that the Lord is honored and our kids will know how to respond when He calls to them, building an ark for their salvation, let us, like Noah, also work for the salvation of those for whom Jesus gave His life.