Scripture to Read: Genesis 8:6-12
God’s salvation has been and always will be incredibly miraculous. God has provided numerous salvation stories throughout the Old Testament. The ultimate salvation can only be fully known through a relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. Each salvation story in the Old Testament, though, points to Christ. As we have seen in the story of Noah and his family, God continually provided for them and took care of them. As the waters continued to decrease, the ark finally came to rest on Mount Ararat, which is in modern-day Turkey. By this time in Scripture, Noah and his family would have begun to see the tops of the mountainous regions. Noah knew God would provide, and so Noah sent out birds to see if enough land was showing for all of them to be able to leave the ark for good. In Genesis 8:6-12, Noah first sent out a raven to see if the waters had subsided, but they had not. Then, Noah sent out a dove on the second, third, and fourth times to see if the waters had subsided enough. Finally, the dove was sent out the fourth time, and that was when the dove did not return. Noah then knew it was now safe to leave the ark. Again, we see God’s abundant provision and protection given to Noah and his family. God provides abundantly for us every day too. We need to be aware of His generous provision (food, clothing, shelter, education, job, family, friends, church family, etc…) and protection. We also need to be incredibly grateful to Him for it all.
Challenge & Application
1. What did God teach you today about God’s provision and protection that He gave to Noah and his family?
2. How do you thank God each day for all He has done for you and continues to do for you every day?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!