Am I Ark Worthy?
One morning, as I was preparing breakfast, my children were watching VeggieTales.
Don’t come for me, but I allow them to watch TV. Especially in the mornings when I haven’t had much coffee.
The episode they were watching happened to be the story of Noah, and, as I was scrambling the eggs, there was a line that stopped me mid-scramble.
Bob the Tomato was explaining that “nobody cared about doing the right thing anymore.” Boy did that get me to thinking.
Am I “Ark Worthy?”
I asked myself, “am I living a life that is ark worthy?” Would God have chosen to put me and my family on that big boat to weather the storm?
Genesis 6:5 says that “human wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time” (CSB). That is a mouth full to say the least.
I began to dissect my thoughts: Is my mind nothing but evil all this time?
If I were to truly look at my thoughts throughout the day, I would be challenged to find any that weren’t selfish. In fact, they tend to be centered around myself, what I want and what I don’t want, when I am not focused on my role as a servant of Christ.
I Need Jesus
When I allow myself to step away from my Savior, I can be an awful person. I become angry when my children need me because I want to just finish a task without being touched. I begin to resent my husband because he has no idea of the mental load I carry. I begin to have road rage in the grocery store, I can be critical of people’s online posts, and the red light is just taking too long to change.
My mind, unchecked, can be an angry and depressing place. In fact, if I step away from intentionally spending time with God, family inevitably suffers. My husband can see it, my children can see it, and I can feel it.
Without God, I am insufferable.
We Have All Sinned
Genesis 6:6 says, “the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and he was deeply grieved” (CSB).
Now, Jesus loves me, this I know; but I can’t help but wonder if I have ever deeply grieved the LORD?
I can’t imagine my natural inclinations towards sin are any worse than the others in Noah’s generation. I am not better than these people; we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Judging by my own experiences, I don’t think mankind has gotten less evil over time. This realization is a hard one to swallow.
But then, there was Noah. He “found favor with the LORD.”
How did he find favor with the LORD? What was he doing that everyone else wasn’t? What was he not doing that everyone else was?
How do I find favor with the LORD?
Related Post: Do You Fear God?
The Fear of God
In the book of Job, God describes job as “a man of perfect integrity who fears God and turns away from evil.” Whatever Noah had, I would say it is a safe bet that Job had it too. Job did what was right in the eyes of the LORD even when nobody was looking.
He feared God.
Was this a fear of retribution or a fear of disappointing his creator? Maybe both. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we no longer fear retribution for those times we fall short of perfect integrity. Jesus paid that price and offers His righteousness to us instead.
We also know that nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:39).
Fear as we know and experience it in this life is not how we should fear God. He is not hiding in a dark corner waiting to release His wrath on us. Rather, think of fear as reverence for God’s awesome power and authority over all creation. The very weather obeys God. When God commands the mountain to move, it must move. Nothing happens outside of God’s will and He has supreme power over everything.
I can quickly forget this in the rush of day-to-day events, but I am quickly reminded by a powerful storm or a beautiful sunset. Even Job who feared the LORD had to be reminded of this at the end of the book when he questions God. He was quickly silenced when the LORD shows up in His mighty power and answers Him from a whirlwind.
Related Post: When Fear Doesn’t Rule in the Heart of the Storm
Turn from Evil
The third character trait God uses to describe Job is that he turns away from evil. That explanation is fairly self-explanatory, but it is way easier said than done.
How do we make it our common practice to turn away from evil?
First, we must recognize the evil when it is in front of us. We must be in tune with the Holy Spirit and recognize even the tiniest whisper that the path we are about to walk down is the wrong one.
We must also depend upon the Lord to help us turn away. Some temptations are easy to walk away from. I have no problem walking away from something I want at a store that I cannot afford. Theft has never been a major temptation for me.
But put me in a crowded salon and the temptation to join in on the gossip can be much stronger. Without a tap on the shoulder from the Holy Spirit and a reminder that I am representing my LORD here on earth, I would cave and join in the talk of who wore what to the last town event.
How to Recognize Our Shepherd’s Voice
Recognizing and heeding to our Shepherd’s voice will save us from a lot of heartache and bring us reward in heaven. We can do this through studying our Bible and meditating on it. Commit it to memory. Know what your Savior has commanded before you face evil.
Prayer is equally important. How would you recognize someone’s voice if you never had a conversation with them? You couldn’t. In order to know your Savior, talk to Him daily. Ask Him to show you who He is and to teach you to recognize His voice. Ask Him daily for wisdom and He will give it to you (James 1:5).
God wants to know you and wants to reveal to you who He is. He wants you to hear His voice. Prayer is the key that opens the door to wisdom.
Contagious Blessings
Being in God’s favor is not only beneficial to you but can save your family too.
Noah’s whole family was granted access to the ark during the great flood. The Bible doesn’t say that Noah’s sons were good and godly people, only that they were Noah’s sons.
Lot was saved from the destruction of Sodom simply because he was Abraham’s nephew. “He remembered Abraham and brought Lot out of the middle of the upheaval when he demolished the cities where Lot had lived,” Genesis 19:29 (CSB).
When we turn our focus to God and keeping His commands, our entire family benefits. God can use you to speak into the lives of your parents, brothers, sisters, husband, children, and anyone else who might have contact with you. When the Lord blesses you, He blesses them too.
The Good News
The good news is, that after God flooded the earth, He promised never to do it again. And eventually He gave us the ten commandments. Guidelines on how to follow Him. But even with the ten commandments, we are all incapable of following all of them all the time. We are still evil creatures.
That is where Jesus Christ stepped in as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Apart from Him, we can do nothing. Without Jesus, I would never be heaven worthy. I would not even be ark worthy. Every day, I am thankful that I have found favor with the LORD; that He pursued me and saved me from the sinking ship that is myself.
Join the Conversation
What is keeping you from being “ark worthy?” We all struggle with something, and there is always room for improvement (Philippians 1:6). Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Meet Caylin Milligan
I am first a servant of Christ, a wife of nearly 15 years, and (after battling infertility for close to a decade) a mother of three beautiful, healthy boys. God called me to resign my full-time job as a 911 dispatcher to stay home and homeschool my boys. I am also called to write and I have a passion for women’s ministry. My desire is to encourage women in Christ and help other women realize their unique design and calling from God.
Are you living in light of the gospel?
Candid Moments Devotional
The gospel has the power to save our souls. Its message is one of forgiveness, mercy, and grace. But the gospel isn’t just for sinners in need of a Savior—it’s for all of us. Jesus died one time, for all time, and His saving grace reaches out to the corners of eternity. But more than that, it reaches from yesterday to today and on to tomorrow.
Because we know the truth recorded in Scripture, our very lives can be shaped by the gospel of Christ. In Candid Moments: Living in Light of the Gospel, you’ll find 21 devotions from Christian women (including Caylin) sharing how the gospel has changed their lives.
Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and beliefs expressed in this post belong to the author and may not be held/shared by all our writers. You can find our belief statement here.
