God Can Tell the Difference

#HeartForTheWord

It took just six short chapters for the story of the wonderful creation of earth, the animals, and man, to take a turn for the worse. God switched from looking at His handiwork and seeing that everything He made was very good, to looking at it and seeing “that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” Genesis 6:5 (NKJ). Things were so bad that God was actually sorry He had even made man in the first place and He decided to wipe everything out. But as He looked around, His eyes rested on Noah who “found grace in the eyes of the Lord… was a just man, perfect in his generations, [and] Noah walked with God” Genesis 6:8-9.

The difference that set Noah apart from those around him caused God to reevaluate His original plan. At first, God had said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them” Genesis 6:7. But upon considering Noah, on one of their walks, God told him:

The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch… And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life… But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. (Genesis 6:13-19)

We can look around us today and it seems as though God’s words could have been ripped straight from the headlines: the wickedness of man is great in the earth, and every intent of the thoughts of his heart is only evil continually. But fear not. Just as God looked around and was able to find Noah in the chaos, He sees us. God can still tell the difference between those who practice wickedness and those who walk with Him. And like Noah, the existence of our witness can serve to keep others alive.

Worship God today as the Discerner. Take regular walks with Him.

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©2014 Sharon Norris Elliott. Feel free to forward this devotion in its entirety, including this copyright line. Leave comments, ask questions, read past devotions, or subscribe to receive these devotions daily in your e-mail at www.sanewriter.wordpress.com. Also, periodically check in at www.LifeThatMatters.net to see what’s going on in the ministry.

Pick up a copy of Sharon’s newest release,

Boomerangs to Arrows: A Godly Guide for Launching Young Adult Children

available from Judson Press (http://www.judsonpress.com/product.cfm?product_id=17387),

at bookstores, and on all major online book buying sites.

Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2JH_gbinMk

Also still available:

Power Suit: The Armor of God Fit for the Feminine Frame

from New Hope Publishers (http://www.newhopedigital.com/2010/08/power-suit/)