Five years ago, my community (in the Houston, Texas area) was devastated by the catastrophic flooding of Hurricane Harvey—which inflicted $125 billion in damage, the costliest natural disaster in my home state.
In a four-day period, many areas received more than 40 inches of rain as the system stalled over southeastern Texas. The resulting floods inundated hundreds of thousands of homes, which displaced more than 30,000 people and prompted more than 17,000 rescues.
Our house of fifteen years was not directly impacted—but we did nervously watch the flood waters rise in our street and on our driveway, recognizing there was nothing we could do. We moved two years ago to another home that was also unaffected by Hurricane Harvey. However, memories came back this week, as our neighbor’s home was flooded by a failed hot water heater pipe. Their second story interior ceilings collapsed, and they returned to a house with 2 inches of water on the floor. They’re looking at a 9-month repair process!
As we continue to learn about the heroes of faith, this brings us to Noah. The story of Noah’s Ark is perhaps the most known and retold stories in the Bible (from Genesis 6-9). Even Hollywood took time and money to adapt a comedy based on this biblical story (with Evan Almighty).
Let’s focus on what the writer of Hebrews points out to us: Noah’s reverent fear led to his faithful action. Noah listened and obeyed God “when warned about things not yet seen”—the flood that would come in judgment of sin.
Noah’s example demonstrates the importance of faith-filled obedience to God’s direction in our lives.
Click here to learn more about Noah’s “Boat Load of Faith”