10 Jan A Harvest in the Mud
The Bible story of Noah and the flood seems like a simple story, but it’s really packed with biblical symbolism. In it, God told Noah to build an ark, a big boat, because the world had become so sinful that God wanted to start over. He told him that He was going to send a flood to destroy the whole earth, but because Noah was righteous, God would save him and his family.
Then, He instructed Noah to put a male and female of every animal on board so that they could reproduce when the flood was over. Noah followed instructions, and sure enough, the waters began pouring. It rained for forty days and forty nights.
After the rain stopped, Noah sent a raven out to discover if there was any dry land to rest the boat on. Ravens are a sign of judgment, which accurately depicted what had just happened to the world. Then Noah sent out a dove. It too came back empty. A week later, he sent out the dove again. Finally, it brought back a freshly plucked olive branch and Noah knew: the flood was finally over.
A dove represents the Spirit of God, and the olive branch represents perpetual peace. So God wanted Noah to get the fact that the peace of God would come to us through His Spirit alone.
Next, Noah learned an important lesson we could all benefit from. He walked out of the boat, expecting to throw a big party now that the flood was over. But instead, he walked out to mud everywhere. He was frustrated, I’m sure, asking God, “How am I supposed to eat? I can’t grow anything in the mud!”
God answered him in Genesis 8:22 when He said, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”
In other words, there’s always hope. There’s always a harvest in the mud. Our lives can flourish despite our conditions if we sow the right seeds. But the mud won’t just go away. We have to believe in and act on the power of seedtime and harvest.
The truth is that when we live with real hope in our hearts, even after something as terrible as a judgment-induced flood, even with the aftermath of muddiness, we can experience true peace that produces hope. And as Romans 5:5 says, God’s hope never disappoints.
So as you begin this New Year, think about the muddy parts of your life, the parts that seem hopeless. Remind yourself that there’s always hope in the mud, because in the mud is everything you need to grow what you desire. If you sow right, you can still reap the harvest that your heart is longing for.
So let’s wipe the slate clean, and start sowing good things into the mud, remaining consistent because we know: God’s hope always brings a harvest!