Bobbing in the Floodwaters

“When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf.” Genesis 8:11

As I consider Noah this morning during my devotional time, I draw some parallels between his family’s circumstances and our circumstances. Noah and his family also had to isolate for the impending flood without any knowledge of ‘how long.’ Day after day he searched the horizon for any small sign that life would return to normalcy. How the discouragement must have been unbearable, and how illusive hope could have seemed. But Noah did the very thing that we need to keep on doing...he kept searching the horizon...he believed God for His promise...he never gave up hope. As Romans 5:5 states, ‘...and hope does not disappoint, because God has poured out His love into our hearts...’

As we all turn our minds and hearts to a new year with hopes of new circumstances there is still the lingering challenges of the past two years...COVID...our own ‘Noah’s ark’ that has intruded and interrupted our lives in a flood of fear and heartbreak. I never in a million years dreamed we would still be bobbing in the floodwaters waiting for resolution and normalcy. It is easy to keep our eyes on the water instead of the sky looking for the dove to return with the olive leaf. Max Lucado, author of Begin Again writes, ‘Hope doesn’t promise an instant solution but rather the possibility of an eventual one...For isn’t that what hope is? Hope is an olive leaf – evidence of dry land after a flood’ p. 8.

There is something grand about new beginnings as we flip our calendars over to a new year. Even with the worst of circumstances, the page still turns...the world still goes on...life still takes our hand and pulls us into tomorrow. We can’t begrudge its efforts because it is the path to the place where God provides new pastures...fresh possibilities...fresh hope. ‘God is a God of fresh starts. He is the author of the new chapter, the architect of the new design, the voice behind the new song. God knows the way forward. No matter what kind of disappointment or grief or trouble or heartache you’ve encountered, God offers an opportunity to begin again. Your current circumstances will not get the final say in your life.’ p. 8.

Don’t ever stop looking for the olive leaf for that is where hope is born.