Look for the Noahs

Claire McGarry discovers that the only way to protect her heart from all the bad in the world is to focus on the Noahs.

I live far more by my heart than I do by my head. Most of the time, it works for me. I get deeply invested in whatever I do. When things go right, I’m on Cloud 9!

Things aren’t so great, however, when I’m constantly bombarded by bad news. Headlines in the newspaper, rants on social media, and people who feed into the negativity bruise my heart so much, I feel defeated. It makes me wonder what the point of it all is.

I can only imagine how God must have felt when He looked down at Creation and “saw how great the wickedness of the human race was on the earth (Genesis 6:5).” His heart was so bruised, He was “grieved.”

But then He saw Noah.

Although God planned to destroy the earth and everyone on it, His heart softened when it came to Noah. Noah was righteous, blameless and faithful to God (Genesis 6:9). Looking down at him, God’s hope was restored.

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Accordingly, God created a new plan for how to save Noah, and instructed him every step of the way. That plan protected Noah and his family from 40 days of rain, wind and waves as the face of the earth was being washed clean.

That same hope had God promising to never destroy man again. It also inspired Him to bless Noah, make him fruitful, and repopulate the earth. All it took was one righteous man, in a world of evil people, to restore life and hope in the world.

So, if you’re like me and too much negativity can weigh you down, look for your Noah. Look for that person that’s radiating light into the darkness, exuding love in the midst of the hate and spreading joy despite the muck.

I’m finding the more I practice looking for them, the better I get at seeing them. Because they are all around: Noahs of light, casting out shadows with their hearts full of faith in God.