Then God Remembered

(Photo by Eli)

"On the very same day Noah and Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark - . . . So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in." -- Genesis 7:13 & 16

"Then God spoke to Noah, saying, "Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons' wives with you." -- Genesis 8:15

The boys and I have been studying the life of Noah over the last two weeks during our morning devotions together. After every chapter we've looked at, the boys and I search for things in the lives of those mentioned to see what things we can learn from those in the past that would help us to love the Lord God with all our hearts and to love our neighbors as ourself. We've found many lessons and applications - God is good.

One thing we discovered comes from the verses above. In reading them, you'll find that God called Noah into the ark and God called Noah out of the ark. We discussed the fact that this very thing happens to us as well. God calls us into trials and God calls us out of trials - in His timing.

In the middle of these two verses, you would find Genesis 8:1 which says, "Then God remembered Noah . . ." That doesn't mean that one day God thought, "Whoops! That's right! I left that guy down there in the boat. Maybe I better check on him!" Rather (as the note in my Bible suggests), "God's remembrance in Scripture is a determined action rather than a mental process; when He remembers He acts mercifully to save."

I praise God that trials take place at His command, in His timing. He sends us in and brings us out at the proper moment. And He NEVER, NEVER forgets us.