....floods

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away; Behold, all things are become new! 2 Corinthians 5:17 

Water. All Noah can see is water. You can relate. You've known your share of floods. Flooded by sorrow at the cemetery, anger at the disability in your body, fear of the uncertainty of a pandemic. And you've needed what Noah needed; you've needed hope. 

Sometimes, all we need is a little hope. That's all Noah needed, and that's what Noah received. This is how the Bible describes the moment: "When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf!" Genesis 8:11.  Hope is an olive leaf — evidence of dry land after a flood.

 

Could you use some hope? Could you use a fresh start?  At some point in life, we all could!  And the oh-so-welcome news of Scripture is this: Our God is a God of fresh starts. He is the God who told a weary and discouraged people: "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland Isaiah 43:19

But these streams are streams of grace and mercy and love, not the floods that have burdened your heart. So, dear friend, may you experience a flood of God's grace to drive away your despair, disappointment, discouragement, and grief.

- max lucado adapted from God of fresh starts