I was reading this morning in the book of Genesis Chapters 7 & 8. Here is where you will read the story of Noah and how God instructed him to build the ark, how the animals came to him, how the ark was closed up and how long they were in the ark before they came out.
As I read, I was struck by how this story connects to our situation today during this pandemic.
Let me elaborate. The length of time Noah and his family were inside the ark with all those animals was a year!! Before you move on, just think about what that must have been like. Trapped inside with his family with limited space to move around. No grocery stores to go to. No ability to go outside for fresh air since it was constantly raining for a good portion of that time. Even after it stopped raining it took a very long time for the water to recede so there was dry ground.
They were stuck inside completely. No sunshine. They were stuck inside with all those animals… two of every kind! That’s a lot of animals. I can’t really even imagine the noise and the smells that they endured during that time. There were no bathrooms. (Of course, there was no toilet paper shortage like what we are facing.) What happened to all that waste? How did they bathe? How did they clean up after the animals or could they even do that?
I don’t have all the answers to the many questions about how they lived while inside the ark. What I do know is God sustained them while they were in quarantine for a year. How do I know that? When they were finally able to come out onto dry ground, Noah built an altar to the Lord and praised Him. If God had not sustained them then one would have to ask why Noah would build an altar to praise Him.
In this very difficult time for our world, while we may be feeling stuck due to social distancing and quarantine, take comfort in God who will sustain us. Turn to him with your concerns and struggles. Turn to him with your cares because He cares for you. He loves you. He knows you intimately because he created you.
I am at peace in my home every day because of my relationship with Jesus. I cannot imagine how frightening this pandemic would be to me without that relationship. As we go through this Passover and Easter week, what better time than now to turn your heart over to Him. He is waiting for you.