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What would you do if it rained for forty days and forty nights? How would you feel if you couldn‘t go outside for over a year because your yard was flooded?
That‘s how it was for Noah, a man who lived many years ago. He and his family stayed inside a huge boat for more than a year during a rainstorm and flood. The water covered the entire earth, and it destroyed everything. Nothing like this had ever happened.
Noah, his wife, and his three sons and their wives escaped death from the great flood. They trusted in God, and He saved them.
Now, use your imagination, as we journey back through time to look at the Life Connection Story "Noah."
(Story adapted from Genesis 6:5 to 9:29)
My name is Noah. I am excited to share with you how God worked in my life.
People lived a long time during my day. After I was 500 years old, my wife and I had three sons, named Shem, Ham, and Japheth. They grew up and had wives, too.
People on the earth were wicked. They didn‘t believe in God. They would not trust in Him. They had "sin" in them. God felt pain in His heart because sin meant death for all people. Sin made a gap between all people and God. God decided to destroy people, animals, birds, and crawling things by a flood. But God accepted me. I trusted in Him. God called me blameless. Nothing could separate me from His love. God saved my family and me, and we depended upon Him. He also kept a few of each kind of animal, bird, and crawling thing, so they could keep living after the flood.
God had a "forever plan." As part of that plan, God said to build a huge wooden boat, called an "ark." God said the ark would be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. It was as long as one and one-half football fields! The ark had three decks, with rooms for my family and the animals, birds, and crawling things. The ark had only one door, though. The door was God‘s "One Way" to be saved from the flood.
The animals, birds, and crawling things came to me in pairs. They went into the ark. Then my family and I went into the ark. We all entered through the "One Door." Then God closed the door to the ark.
After a week, the underground springs broke open, and the clouds poured out rain. It rained for forty days and forty nights. The water lifted the ark off the ground. The ark floated above the highest mountains. Everything on the earth died, except us in the ark. The animals kept us busy day and night. We fed them, cleaned up after them, and helped care for their babies. We were in God‘s floating zoo!
God did not forget about us in the ark. After the rain stopped, God sent a strong wind over the earth to make the water go down. The ark finally came to rest on a mountain. But we had to stay in the ark for several more months because the water was still too high.
Finally, we left the ark. It had been our home for more than a year. When we stepped onto dry land, we worshiped God. We were amazed that He would save us, out of all the people on the earth. God promised to never again destroy all living things by a flood. He placed a beautiful rainbow high in the clouds to remind us of this promise. The next time you see a rainbow, remember that God keeps all of His promises.
After the flood, we sometimes forgot that God keeps His promises. We did not always depend upon Him, but He always loved us and accepted us. Nothing could break our friendship with Him. God wants you to have friendship with Him and to be safe and secure in His "ark of life."
Let‘s thank God for all He has done and for His great love for us. Pray these words of praise to Him:
God, thank You for promising to never again destroy all living things by a flood. Thank You for keeping all of Your promises and for always loving me. I want to have friendship with You and to be safe and secure in Your "ark of life."
Use Genesis 6:5 to 9:19 and the Life Connection Story. They will help you complete your Life Connection Response.
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