God wasn’t happy with the people on the earth, because they continuously sinned against him. So he decided to flood the earth. But there was one man who trusted God completely and served him. His name was Noah, and he was saved because of his strong faith.
“When Noah was 600 years old, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the underground waters erupted from the earth, and the rain fell in mighty torrents from the sky. The rain continued to fall for forty days and forty nights.” Genesis 7:11-12 NLT
All through the storm, in the thick of the trial, Noah trusted God. I want to be able to trust God like that. God tests people all the time to trust in him. During any trial I will have, I want to be able to trust God with all my heart, just like Noah did during the flood. But Noah wasn’t the only person in the Bible to show great faith in God. Ezra did too; but he came many years after.
“This Ezra was a scribe who was well versed in the Law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given to the people of Israel. He came up to Jerusalem from Babylon, and the king gave him everything he asked for, because the gracious hand of the Lord his God was on him.” Ezra 7:6 NLT
The verse says that the “gracious hand of the Lord his God was on him.” That makes me wonder why God protected and helped him. First of all, God loved him, as he does everybody. But Ezra trusted God with his plans; and God rewarded him by assisting him.
“Then the high priest asked Stephen, ‘Are these accusations true?’ This was Stephen’s reply: ‘Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran. God told him, ‘Leave your native land and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’ So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran until his father died. Then God brought him here to the land where you now live.” Acts 7:1-4 NLT
God keeps his promises. He is faithful to the end. I now trust God with my entire life, because his plan is much better than any plans I will ever have! I know I can count on him.
Hey God,
I trust you with my entire life, with all the decisions I make, and with my future. Give me wisdom when you test me, so I won’t let my faith waver. I don’t want to ever doubt you. You’ve kept your promises up until now, so I know that you will continue to. In your name I pray, Amen.
–Lanie (llilly2017)
Sixty-six books in a year 