But God remembered Noah.

(Genesis 8:1 NIV)

A newcomer to Seattle arrives on a rainy day. The next morning?  More rain.  And the next… and the next.  Finally, frustrated, she spots a young child and asks, “Hey, does it ever stop raining around here?”

The kid shrugs, “How should I know? I’m only six.”

Residents joke that people in Seattle don’t tan; they rust. Others say it only rains twice a year: August through April, and May through July. And what do you call two straight days of rain in Seattle?  A weekend.  

Seattle may be known for endless drizzle, but long stretches of rain always bring Noah to mind. His story isn’t about a weekend of gray skies; it’s about forty days and forty nights of pounding rain, followed by months of waiting for the waters to recede. Children may know Noah as “the man with the animals,” but for adults, his story carries lessons about endurance, trust, and obedience in long seasons of uncertainty.

Imagine being Noah.  God tells him to build an ark.  It was a massive structure that must have seemed ridiculous under clear skies, but Noah obeys. Then the rains come and Noah finds himself sealed inside a boat, unable to see what God is doing or when it will end. The flood wasn’t a short trial but a season of waiting, praying, and trusting, when dry land was nowhere in sight.

Most of us know what it feels like to live through our own “flood seasons.” It may not be forty days of literal rain, but it might be months of hardship or uncertainty.  Times when we wonder, like the woman in Seattle, “Will it ever stop?”

But Noah’s story reminds us that no flood lasts forever. God is at work even behind the clouds and, in his perfect time, he will bring us safely to rest.

Genesis 8:1 offers one of the most comforting phrases in Scripture: “But God remembered Noah.” (Genesis 8:1 NIV. In everything that Noah was going through, God remained faithful and present.

Whatever rain you’re facing today, hold on to this truth:  God has not forgotten you.  He remembers you.  He will bring you through the floods.  And beyond the season of rain that never seems to end, there will be dry land again.

Prayer: Father, when the storms of life feel unending, remind us that you never forget us. Give us patience as we wait, courage as we face uncertainty, and hope in your promise.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Alan Smith
Reprinted with permission from Alan Smith’s Thought For the Day