Lord God,
You looked upon the world You made
and Your heart was grieved.
Every thought of man’s heart was only evil,
continually.
Violence filled the earth.
Corruption reigned where once You called things good.
And You mourned.
God, I feel the weight of that still.
Our world is not far from theirs.
We dress it up with lights and noise,
but underneath
greed, lust, cruelty, pride.
Even in my own heart,
there are things that grieve You.
I confess
Too often I blend in when I should stand out.
I compromise when I should be convicted.
I stay silent when I should speak truth.
I run from hard obedience,
and settle for safe disobedience.
But then
Noah.
“But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”
What a sentence of hope in a sea of darkness.
One man.
One life of faith.
One heart that walked with You
when the world walked away.
Lord, I want to be like Noah.
Not perfect, he wasn’t.
But faithful in his generation.
Faithful when it was not popular.
Obedient when it did not make sense.
Willing to build what no one understands,
because I believe what You’ve said.
You gave Noah a task that seemed foolish
an ark when there were no clouds,
a warning when there were only blue skies.
And he obeyed.
Every plank a sermon.
Every nail a testimony.
Every step an act of trust.
Lord, give me that kind of faith.
Faith that works when the world mocks.
Faith that builds when the future is unclear.
Faith that stands alone if need be
but never alone in Your eyes.
When You call me to build
whether a ministry, a family, a life of holiness
let me build with reverence.
Let me build slowly, faithfully,
even when the rain hasn’t come.
When others laugh,
remind me
There’s only One voice I need to please.
When the world around me rots,
let me walk with You in righteousness.
And Lord
the floodwaters came.
You judged what was evil.
You do not ignore wickedness.
But even in judgment,
You made a way.
An ark.
A door.
A promise.
Jesus, You are my Ark.
You take me in when the storm rages.
You carry me through waters I cannot survive.
You shut the door behind me,
not to trap me
but to save me.
I don’t deserve that grace.
Noah didn’t either.
But You are the God who remembers mercy
even in the flood.
The God who calls the righteous to shine
when the earth grows dark.
So here I am, Lord
One life.
One voice.
One pair of trembling hands.
Use me in my generation.
Let me walk blameless in a crooked world.
Let me build what matters.
Let me trust when no one else will.
And let my life be a vessel of rescue
for my family,
for my neighbors,
for anyone willing to enter through the door of grace.
In the name of Jesus,
the better Noah,
the One who builds our salvation
and carries us through judgment
Amen.