Let Us See

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

LET US SEE

Gen 8:6-14

6 After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark 7 and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. 8 Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. 9 But the dove could find no place to set its feet because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. 10 He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. 11 When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. 12 He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.

13 By the first day of the first month of Noah's six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. 14 By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry.

NIV

By our calculations, which could be right or wrong, from the time the rain began in the 600^th year, 2^nd month and 17^th day, until the 601st year, 2nd month, 27th day, when the earth was completely dry, is 1 year and 10 days that Noah was in the ark. Although that is not the story for us today, it is interesting that God wanted us to know the exact times this event took place. Next, we will see that God told Noah to come out of the ark. Although Noah had a window so that he could send out the raven and then the dove, it was doubtful that he could see much of what was out there, as he had not yet removed the covering over the ark. However, on the day recorded, Noah removed the covering from the ark and was able to see that the ground was dry. We do not know what this covering was made of, but it could have been some kind of canvas-type cloth or boards of cypress wood that were able to come apart. Whatever it was, Noah was able to remove it and see that the surface of the ground was dry. This is where we get the clue for our lives. We wonder if it is possible that we had a covering or, for that matter, still have a covering over our hearts that keeps us from seeing the truth of God. When we remove that covering from our hearts, we can see the truth of what God has done, is doing for us and in us, and what he wants to accomplish through us. Noah removed the covering over the ark, so it would seem that we are the ones who should remove the covering over our hearts and minds. Yet, at the same time, the Father sent us the Holy Spirit to dwell within us, so that he could uncover our hearts and minds, opening them and exposing them to his divine presence and influence. However, because God never forces himself upon us but gently persuades, we can refuse and keep that covering in place, so we can do what we want to do, when and how we want to. That brings us to the question of whose influence we listen to: ours or His. Lord, if there is any covering left, remove that cover, and let us see.