Day 47: Stop Making Your Own Plans

Read: Genesis 6:17-18

Before I got to this country, I heard about the “American Dream.” It was a concept that wasn’t foreign to me but something I found interesting. I lived in Asia, but I was still exposed to pastors from America. Oftentimes in their sermons, they would talk about their pursuit of this “American Dream” and how bad it was for them. How, they reached their career goals, got the nice car or a big house, found the right person, got married and had kids. But, as they lived out this so-called dream, they still felt empty and like their lives were meaningless. They’d end the sermon with a story of why they left that pursuit of life and followed God’s plan for them instead. And now, how much happier they were because of it. 

I believe we all have our own sort of “American Dream.” For the most part, it’s a plan we’ve laid out for ourselves. It can feel like the right thing to do, or even what we were taught to do. But, as a believer I’ve figured out that, no how good my dream might be, if it’s not what God intended, it will bring failure or discontent.

In this passage, God is talking to Noah about the coming flood. Almost all the people of the world were still living in wickedness (similarly to what we often see in our world today) and God was finally bringing their evil acts to judgement. In Genesis 6:17 God says, “For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.” We can only imagine what Noah must have been thinking in that moment. Imagine if Noah didn’t listen to God’s call, he’d be like everyone else, subject to the Flood. 

 But Noah, being the obedient servant, listened. And that’s why in verse 18, God promises this to him: “But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.” Despite the judgement that was coming down on everyone else, Noah’s family would be spared. It was a promise of deliverance. 

The people of the world in Noah’s time thought they had full control of what they were doing and of their future. They thought they could live out their lives, no matter how sinful, without any repercussions. They didn’t have authorities governing them, life spans were longer. Things were going along uninterrupted until their eyes were opened to the infinite power of the almighty God. 

God has proven Himself, countless times to us already. In the Bible, we read how He helped His people over and over again. God is just, but we can’t forget the mercy He showed by sending His Son, as a promise to us of deliverance. 

At times, do you try to take control of your life instead of seeking what God has planned? We’ve all done it, we’re all guilty of it. We need to continue to listen to God’s will for our lives, and remember that there are repercussions to falling astray from it. Most of all, we need to remember that we’ve been delivered from ourselves through Christ and His sacrifice.