Genesis 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD
Back on August 29 of last year, the Administration Building here at the Bill Rice Ranch was burned. It was basically consumed. There is still the concrete pad and the walls, and we are going to rebuild. We are thankful for that, but when a twenty-thousand square foot building basically goes up in smoke in a relatively short amount of time, it feels like a calamity. It felt like a disaster. But you know, calamities are relative. As big as that fire was in our office building, at our camp in Arizona in the high country of the Mogollon Rim, fire is a very real danger, not just for a building but for entire cities or even counties. If you live in California, you know the danger of such fire.
But even a fire is relative to a tornado. A tornado can destroy an entire swath spanning through several states. No one likes tornadoes, but that is relative to those who have lived through a hurricane, which is not just isolated in one spot but can take up a massive area. I know people whose homes were destroyed in Florida because of the most recent hurricanes, and in some cases, the real damage was done by flooding, for which they had no insurance. The point is that calamities are relative. Something may be engulfing my entire world, but there may be something even bigger yet.
All those calamities are dwarfed by the concept of a universal flood. The Bible talks about a universal flood, yet the Bible says in Genesis 6:8, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” This is the first occurrence of the word “grace” in the Bible. Noah found God’s goodness, kindness, and loving favor even in the middle of a wicked day and a wicked world. So, nothing on this planet is greater than the grace of God.
I don’t know what you are going through today or what problems you have had, but nothing on this planet, not the judgment of God or the giant in your life, is greater than the grace of God. Genesis 6:4 says, “There were giants in the earth in those days.” Later it says there were “mighty men which were of old men, men of renown.” Those giants were nothing in comparison to the flood that came and the grace that God gave to Noah.
God’s grace is greater than the wickedness of this earth. Verse 5 says, “And God saw that the wickedness of men was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Yet, God’s flood was greater than that wickedness and God’s grace was greater than that wickedness.
God’s grace is greater than the majority. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I wish I could be in the majority on something once in my life. In Genesis 6:11 it says, “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” This was all inclusive. From one end of the earth to the other the world was filled with violence and wickedness, yet the judgment that came was far greater than all of this. But God’s grace and goodness to those who looked to Him was greater than all those things, giants, wickedness, and the majority. The Bible says that “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”
In Genesis 8:1 it says, “And God remembered Noah.” You may think life seems overwhelming, like there is no way you can win the world. That may be true, but you can do what is right yourself. You can influence the circle of people around you and leave to God how much that makes an impact on the world beyond. I think we should try to win our world, but we should begin where we are. Think about Noah. Noah saved his family and we are descendants of Noah today because he did. As I have said before, I may not be able to change the world I give my kids, but I can change the kids I give my world and in doing that I may actually change the world itself. That is exactly what Noah did.
In Psalm 93 it says, “The LORD reigneth.” God is monarch and “clothed with majesty.” Verse 2 says, “Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.” God is ever powerful and everlasting. Psalm 93:3 says, “The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves.” This is not a reference to the floods on the ground. This is a reference to the floods of people who are lifting up their voices against God.
So, what is the upshot of this? Psalm 93:4-5 says, “The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea. Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O LORD, for ever.” The point is that I don’t need to please everybody. I need to love everyone, hate sin, love the truth, and have confidence that it will work because nothing on this planet, not the giants in my path, the wickedness in my heart, or the majority around me, is greater than the grace of God.