Floods

Recently I finished a book called “Washed Away”. It talks about the Flood of 1913 that affected Dayton, Ohio and Fort Wayne, Indiana, among other places.  The massive rainfall associated with this weather system caused significant amounts of  water to fill the streets made a boat the most effective form of transportation in these areas. Those of us in the Grand Rapids area had a significant flood last year as well. In addition, there was major flooding in Colorado last year as well. The first and  most famous flood is the one recorded in the book of Genesis. God was angry with man’s sin. “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). As a result He decided to wipe out everyone in the world with a flood, except for Noah and his family. After building an ark for 120 years, Noah and his family and the animals God sent him entered the ark and spent the next year and ten days there. During this event water came from both above and beneath the earth. The inside of the earth was likely filled with water at this time. Today it is filled with fire.  This flood, though denied by many today, is still considered to be a benchmark for other floods.  During the flooding that happened in Colorado last year, I saw a headline in USA Today that read “Flood of Biblical Proportions”.  After the Genesis flood God promised never to send a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all mankind.  Why then do we still get floods today? God did not promise that rivers would never again overflow,  or that hurricanes or fast-moving thunderstorms would not drop vast amounts of rain on the earth. Rather He promised that He would never send a flood that would kill most of world’s inhabitants and destroy the whole creation. We do well to remember that God has control over the flood waters that come upon the earth, but those aren’t the only floods He controls. We experience floods of emotions as the result of the experiences that we have, and sometimes we almost drown in them. These afflictions might be the death of a friend or family member, cancer, job loss, the breakup with one’s boyfriend or girlfriend, or anything else we view as evil.  We also experience floods of guilt over our sins. During these troubling times God has promised that “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee” (Isaiah 43:2). With God’s help, these floods won’t overwhelm us and drag us down. Let us remember that God is faithful, and He brings us through the experiences of this life into heavenly glory.

Kevin Rau