Stress Test Devotional May 4
May 04, 2024
GENESIS 8:8-13| Then he sent out the dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground; but the dove found no place to set its foot, and it 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 it and brought it into the ark with him. He waited another seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark; and the dove came back to him in the evening, and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. Then he waited another seven days, and sent out the dove; and it did not return to him any more. In the six hundred first year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and saw that the face of the ground was drying.
The second idea is that of covenant as a means of renewal. God makes a covenant with Noah and his clan, promising life beyond the flood and an end to the threat of cataclysms. Even if his family and progeny break faith with the terms, they will not suffer ultimate punishment. The rainbow is a sign of this promise, as is the regularity of the seasons of nature.
Covenants define relationships. unconditional ones, like the Noah covenant or the elements of a traditional marriage service, include promises and vows that embody a love without limits. Such commitments are bold and courageous in a world tarnished by sin and trouble. Yet without them relationships devolve toward self interest, and communities lose their purpose.
Think about your own life in terms of covenants.
In the Bible covenants are often renewed. Are any of yours up for renewal?
