Will God destroy us like he did those in Noah's day?

We had just finished the lesson and review questions on the flood.  God offered a way of escape but only 8 people chose it.  God had killed everyone outside of the ark and then promised Noah that he would never flood the earth again.  And now that the lesson was over, my ‘sister’, Imi had a question.  Because guys were using the question time as a platform to air their grievances, we had cut off the question time, telling them to come to us individually with questions.  My sister decided to wait until we met as ladies later that morning.  So when we came together, I started the ladies meeting with her question, asking her to share it with all of us.  It was a small group of ladies, and this particular lady has been tracking right along – speaking boldly in the lessons and ladies’ meetings.  She’s one of my favorite ladies here and that makes it all the more special that she’s tracking so well!  Anyway, she finally asked if God would destroy us as He did the people in Noah’s day.  The way she phrased the question made it clear that she feels like she’s in trouble – in danger of being destroyed for her sin!  Wow!  It was so exciting to hear her ask that – all of the things it revealed about where she’s at in her thinking.  She’s wondering what she needs to do to be saved….that’s the bottom line.  She sees that she’s a sinner before God and she seems to be grasping that she’s going to receive punishment for those sins.  She didn’t state it as boldly as any of that but her phrasing and question sure indicated that she’s pondering all these things.  Praise the Lord for what He is doing in her life! 

 

Then I opened it up again for them to share thoughts or questions and Dakruma started talking about how she kept thinking about the people in Noah’s day as she scraped sago the day before.  She kept thinking about what they were doing – and how they (the Wabuku people) are no different – they do those things now as well.  She was just talking about how it was going round and round in her mind as she scraped sago.  As I sat and listened to her, I was almost in tears.  It hit me just how incredible it was to finally be talking about spiritual things with these ladies – and see all that they’re understanding – and believing.  And that one day very soon, I could be sitting there listening to believers talk about their Savior – and what He’d taught them while they were out in the middle of the jungle.  It was almost overwhelming as I sat there!  I held my tears in check because I knew the ladies would wonder what I was upset about…..but I felt it.  I can almost taste the reality of a church birthed here in Wabuku.  I’ve been so encouraged by what these ladies are sharing – seeing them grasping the things they need to know about God and themselves.  As we get to the stories of Sodom and Gomorrah and the Law, I imagine that weight and concern about sin’s punishment that they’re glimpsing right now will only get heavier.  And then we’ll finally get to the Answer we have in Christ!  Exciting stuff!