“In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried from off the earth. And Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry” (Genesis 8:13 ESV).
How long did Noah, his family, and the animals live on the ark? Ten and a half months, plus two more months waiting for the earth to dry. They spent a little over a year, cooped up together on a boat with one window! That must have been some year. Everything they had known before was gone. The old had passed away, yet everything before them was new again.
God had saved them. Their former homes and possessions were gone, but they were alive. They had the Lord and they had each other.
Have you ever had a year when the storms of life came and changed everything you’d known before? Where do you turn at such a time? It’s hard not to cling to the past. How can we face a new year and begin anew?
God told Noah, “Go out from the boat” (Gen. 8:16). I guess that’s the first step. Listen for God’s voice. And leave the past behind.
PRAYER: Dear Father, help us to turn our eyes to You, turning the page on yesterday, fully living in the present, and trusting You with the future. Yesterday had its share of suffering, loss and even shame. Yet, we know that You have put our sin and shame on Your Son Jesus, so that we no longer have to bear it. Help us to walk by faith in the freedom of the Spirit, knowing that the future is in Your hands. In Jesus name. Amen.