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We are on lesson five already! Half way through…can you believe it? There has been so much in each lesson and I have been loving this time of digging into Genesis this summer. I am continually amazed by the power of God’s Word, aren’t you?! I pray that God would continue to transform my life and yours as we study together.

Don’t worry if you are a little behind! Keep going…you will be so glad you did. I promise. I was way behind in responding to comments too. I caught up on the last two lessons and if I somehow missed you I am really sorry! I am going to do better this week. 🙂

 

Okay, on to lesson five.

This week was big for me as the Lord began revealing some areas of sin in my life. Areas in my life that I am trying to make a name for myself apart from Him. It is always a little yucky as those layers are peeled away and I begin to see the ugliness in the ways I am still trying to live for myself. As I’ve read this familiar story of the Tower of Babel in the past I’ve laughed at those crazy people who were trying to build a tower in their own strength to reach God and make a name for themselves. This time as I read, I was a little surprised to see myself in this story.

So, let me just share what the Lord has been doing in my heart this week as I’ve studied these chapters in Genesis.

When Cora died God dropped this little blog into my lap. This blog is truly a gift from Him and a tool that He has given me to glorify Him. I would have never considered myself a writer or a speaker or even one who is willing to be vulnerable and share her life openly with others. The fact that the Lord has given me opportunities to do all three of those things is a testimony of His strength in my weaknesses and how often He uses our lives in unexpected ways. But as much as this blog is a gift, it can also create a temptation to start desiring to build a name for myself. It feels good to be known, for my blog to be recognized and for people to affirm the things I am writing. It doesn’t take long before I start comparing myself to other bloggers and start dreaming of my own ideas for this blog. My own ideas that are really all about making my name known. It doesn’t take long for me to loose sight of the vision God has given me for this blog and giving myself fully to be used by Him. I start taking satisfaction in other people’s support more than in God’s closeness. I begin building a “blog name” for myself.

That is an obvious example of wanting to make myself known, but the same is true for me as a mom. I want to be known as a wise mom. A mom who has well behaved kids all the time (ha!). A mom who is faithfully seeking to point her kids to the Lord and has so many good ideas of how to do that. A mom who is creative and is always doing fun things with her kids. While all those things can be good if I am doing them in the context of being fully used by God in the lives of my children, it doesn’t take long before I begin building a “mom name” for myself as well.

You know how in Genesis 11 the people repeatedly say “come, let us” as they took matters into their own hands and began creating their own security and significance apart from God? I saw myself in this story. I saw myself seeking security and significance apart from God in my own life both as a blogger and a mom. It can be uncomfortable to stand alone in obedience to God and I too find myself wanting to do things my own way. I too begin ignoring God and His promises in exchange for making myself known.

A little discouraging right? But as I compared Genesis 11 to the beginning of Genesis 12 I saw hope. Hope in God’s promise to Abraham. The same hope that He gives me today.  As I read the words “I will make” and “I will bless” I was struck by what God was going to do through Abraham, apart from anything he had accomplished on his own. And God wants to do something through me too, apart from anything I think I can accomplish in my own ingenuity or strength. I long to find my security fully in Christ. I long to allow Him alone to give my life significance. I long for a name that only He can give me.

As I think about this blog and being a mom and other areas in my life that I am seeking to find security and significance I was challenged by these questions:

Is your life going to be all about what you will do, what you will accomplish, what you can build, or what you can make of yourself?

Or is your life going to be all about what God has done, what God will do, and what God will give to you and make of you?

Do you want your life to be about building a monument to yourself and your ingenuity and abilities and accomplishments?

Or do you want your life to be about God seeking you out when you weren’t even looking for him, calling you to leave everything behind to follow him? Do you long for your life to be about God blessing you, protecting you, and filling your life with significance, with himself (p131)?

Am I willing to be faithful and fruitful in the work he has given to me regardless of whether anyone ever knows my name? Am I willing to forsake building a monument to myself so that I can give myself fully to being used by him to build his kingdom in my generation (p137)?

Jesus, I am so grateful that I don’t have to work my whole life to make a name for myself. What a relief. Thank you that I can find my security and significance in you alone. Thank you for the promise that you will give me a name that will endure. Help me to be faithful to give myself fully to be used by You to build Your kingdom in my generation.

Now it’s your turn: The big question of this week was, “How will you meet your needs for security and significance?” As you look back over your life so far, do you see evidence of trying to secure your own future or make a name for yourself?

Hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July. It is one of my favorite holidays to celebrate for sure. We have been busy hanging out with family this week so I asked Julie to cover lesson four today. I am so thankful to have friends who are seeking God and who challenge me. It is a blessing. I was challenged and encouraged by what Julie had to say and I know you will be too!

I know there has been a lot covered so far, so if you are a little behind we would still love to hear your thoughts on each lesson (I am a little behind on responding to comments too!). You can still go back and leave a comment anytime! We are so thankful for those of you who are taking this journey through Genesis with us. God is teaching me so much…I hope you are hearing Him speak to you too!

The account of Noah and the flood is so much more than a cute children’s story. As a mom, I have often focused on the “easy” parts of the story: Noah’s obedience to God’s word, the unique animals God called to board the boat, and His promise to never flood the world again (rainbow). But as I studied the Scripture this week, I saw that I have been glossing over the divine judgment, death, and destruction involved in Noah’s story and feel an urgency to make sure that part of the story is not deleted.

Noah was living in a corrupt and violent culture; humanity had become thoroughly evil and God’s heart grieved. Consequently, He determined to wipe mankind from the face of the earth . . . but not all of them. God chose to save, protect, and preserve Noah and his family. It was God’s grace that empowered Noah to live righteously and to walk with God. Noah did not earn God’s favor, but received it as a gift.

God told Noah his plan to put an end to all people and directed Noah to build an ark. God’s instructions to Noah made little sense and required a “radical reliance on the word of God” (p. 102).

While building the ark, there were many voices in Noah’s culture that were inviting him to live like the rest of the word. Voices that suggested he should not build the ark. Voices that ridiculed his lonely stand against the world. But Noah listened to one voice—the voice of God giving instructions and making promises (p. 99). What a challenge for us today to make sure that it is God’s voice we are listening to.

When Noah and his family were safely in the ark, the flood came. All the people who rejected God and had refused to listen to Noah’s warnings were swept away. It’s a horrific picture, but is not one we can gloss over because it “prefigures what will happen to all who refuse to enter into the safety and protection provided in Christ. The day is coming when all those who have rejected Christ will be destroyed although next time it won’t be by flood but by fire (2 Pet. 3:7).” (p. 104).

Many people today refuse to believe that judgment really is coming. It’s uncomfortable. It seems so harsh and possibly “old-fashioned.” Many people may laugh at the idea. But it’s truth, and it’s dangerous to delete it from the story. “The story of Noah and the ark shouts to all those who persist in living apart from God about what is to come. It invites all to accept God’s offer of protection and safety found only by being united to Christ” (p. 104).

These chapters left me with questions and caused me to wrestle with some of the content; but, as I saw Noah and his family and the animals protected inside the ark, I gained a deeper understanding of how the ark symbolizes our salvation through Jesus Christ. All who “hide” in Christ will be protected from judgment. The ark bore the judgment of God in the form of the flood. Noah didn’t escape judgment but was protected in it. Likewise, Jesus bore our sins on his body so that we can be saved. We won’t escape judgment, but are safe and secure because Jesus took our punishment on the cross. Ultimately, I choose to trust God’s character and sovereignty and thank him for his grace.

Your turn:

 As you made the connections between the ark and how it pictures Christ, which aspects were most meaningful to you and why?

This is an online study of The Promised One by Nancy Guthrie.

You can find all the study information here and here.

Past lessons can be found here: lesson one

lesson two

lesson three