Fresh Start

Genesis 8:1-13

¹But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.

²The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained,

³and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of 150 days the waters had abated,

⁴and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.

⁵And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.

⁶At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made

⁷and sent forth a raven. It went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth.

⁸Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground.

⁹But the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him.

¹⁰He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark.

¹¹And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth.

¹²Then he waited another seven days and sent forth the dove and she did not return to him anymore.

¹³In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried from off the earth. And Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry.

For generations, people have looked for the remains of Noah’s Ark. So far, nothing definitive has been found. There are a few interesting claims, but God hasn’t chosen to give us the ark back. If you were Noah, and every tree on the planet had been destroyed, what might you use to build your new house? How about that gopher wood that just carried you through the storm? One theorist speculates that the ark was deconstructed and used for shelter. Maybe that’s why we haven’t found it yet. In the end, it doesn’t really matter. Either you believe the story or you don’t. The meaning of faith is that you believe in something even when there is no tangible evidence. If we found the ark and everyone knew without question that it was indeed the boat that saved Noah and his family along with all the animals species in the world, we would move away from faith into knowledge. So, just like the Ark of the Covenant or the cross of Jesus, I doubt we will ever find Noah’s Ark. We don’t need it.

If Noah thought building the Ark was a huge task, now he gets to restart civilization. There are now 8 living people on the planet. It’s time for the most colossal do-over in history. He steps out onto now dry ground and a fresh start has come.

Every day we are given numerous fresh starts. Every time we fall down, God picks us back up and we are given yet another chance. And we’ll blow it again – and then we are given another do-over. God’s heart isn’t toward our destruction; His heart is toward our redemption. When you hang your head in shame today, remember that God lifts you up. The blood of Jesus gives you that do-over you need. And every time you fail, grab that do-over and embrace your fresh start.