Genesis 6:9 This is the story of Noah: Noah was a good man, a man of integrity in his community. Noah walked with God. 

Wow, what a beautiful CV! I would give anything to have this on the front page of my obituary. Noah was a special man who did special things for God. 

It’s easy to serve God when everyone around you does it, but when the whole world turns against God, it’s a different story. Noah’s contemporaries were very selfish and deliberately rebelled against God. 

This deeply upset God, so much so that He came to Noah with a plan for a boat. God doesn’t give Noah a weather map or a plan with clear outcomes. Noah just knows he must do what God calls him to do, even if it means building a boat in the middle of a desert. 

He spent years and years building the boat, even when people mocked him a lot! He’s a guy who does the right thing. The secret here is that he lived close to God. So close that he was willing to have people think of him as a fool. 

The main character of the story, however, remains God. All of humanity is against Him, and in fact, He could have destroyed the entire world. He could have knocked a planet out of its orbit, and the earth would have been destroyed. But that’s not God’s style. When the rain stopped, and Noah and the animals stepped out of the ark, God’s promises accompanied them. The promise that He was not finished with this world yet. 

God does not give up. God tries again, even if it is only with one family and a few animals. And even if people today also start doing what they want, this promise that He gives us a chance again and again stands like a pole above water. 

The question is: will we keep our heads above water if everyone around us lives Godless? Is your relationship with God so strong that, no matter what people say, you will still only live His calling? One can only swim against the current if a true, intimate relationship with God is part of the equation.  

I sometimes ask myself if my roots have not become too entwined with the world, or do I have the resolve to follow God’s calling to swim against the current? That’s why I would rather do my part and spend more time with God, so that I can grow, and one day, maybe one day, someone somewhere will say: He lived close to God and did as God wanted, even if it meant going against the current. And you? 

Prayer
Father, it’s not always easy to stand up for what’s right in all circumstances. Sometimes I stay silent when I know I should have opened my mouth. Help me to stay true to Your calling. Give me the strength and wisdom … 

Questions
Where are you currently swimming against the current with God?
What mockery or pressure is testing your obedience today?
How can you build your ark today? 

Now do this
Stand up for what is right today, even if it is uncomfortable or unpopular; show that your faith is more important than approval.
Spend extra time with God. Read, pray, or listen quietly, so that your relationship with Him makes you stand strong against the current.
Do something to demonstrate your faith in your daily life. Help someone, bring hope, or live honestly, even if it takes courage.