"And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters." Genesis 7:18
WHEN this pandemic began, I heard someone say that we are in the same boat, all of us. I disagreed with that. We are in the same ocean but we are in different boats, all of us. Some are in luxury liners, others in yachts, tugboats and, yes, bancas. We are all in the same ocean but we ride in different boats. The degree of danger and difficulty depends on the type of boat we are riding. Some can breeze through like a cruise while the majority have to contend with the nature of what confronts us daily. The banca can only take so much.
There are days when the journey is smooth while there are other days when the seas are rough and we barely can hold on. The waters threaten to overwhelm. There are days when there is no horizon in sight and we are left floundering and hopeless. There is no land. The yacht has the same predicament as the banca. The waters do not distinguish after all.
To be honest, the Bible quote I have used is new to me. I never read it before but it came to me in a very spiritual way. But I will not go into that. Let us just imagine what it looks like.
Of course, this is from the great flood that Noah and his family experienced. When it began to rain, the waters rose higher and higher. “ And the waters prevailed” gives us a clear picture of the power and the strength of the water. Think of a rolling tsunami if you wish. You are helpless. And in the midst of all that, you see an ark, the ark of Noah. Imagine that for a moment. In the fury and the rage of waters, in mountain waves and crashing seas, the ark plunging and thrashing in the waters. Helpless. And here is the clincher.
The ark has no oars, no rudders, no sails, no rudders. It is completely abandoned. Except for the promise of God to Noah that He will protect Noah and his family. And for one hundred fifty days it rained and Noah and his family were in the ark wondering what would happen to them, holding on only on the promise of God. And then the floods receded and a rainbow appeared.
We may not be in an ark but we are in the midst of this storm. And try as we might, there are no sails, no rudders, no oars to guide us. We are in the middle of the ocean and we only have the promise of God.
And that is enough. I do not know how long our 150 days will be but I know it will end and our rainbow will appear. God keeps His promises.