photo credit: Vertigogen
God tells Noah to prepare for the coming flood by building an ark. How is this chapter in the Bible about a flood relevant to us?
Water is the element that corresponds to the emotional self. We often use “watery” terms to describe our emotional life. We talk about being “flooded with emotion” … of ”drowning in sorrow” or of being “swept away by strong waves of emotion.” Like the ocean, our feelings eb and flow and come through us in waves. The flood is a very apt metaphor for the times in our own lives when we experience being swept away by the tidal waves of emotional angst.
The message to us through Noah is not only that we can expect to go through trying times in life but God even explains the purpose of these times of having the ground swept out from under us! He plainly tells Noah that he intends to sweep the planet clean of all evil. Yes, life challenge and personal crisis is the means by which we are refined and shaped into useful vessels of service for Source.
But we have to be able to survive the tough times even if they are intended to grow us! God knew that the flood would destroy Noah too unless he had something in place to see Noah through. So he tells Noah to build an ark and because Noah was one with God he heard and built the ark exactly as he was told to do.
When we apply this logic to ourselves we come to understand that times of hardship are designed for the purpose of purification. God is out to eliminate anything in us that is not in alignment with his purpose, all of these so-called evil elements, meaning anything that goes against his principles, will be wiped out by the emotional storms that are about to descend. But to survive these painful life experiences that are designed to purify, strengthen and shape us into being the best we can be, we must have an ark in place.
We cannot survive these hardships without an ark of protection. We too, like Noah are given details on how to build this ark. Do you want to know more about how God's directions to Noah are relevant to your life?
6 Responses
Thank you, Rahul … I found the Bible about 10 years ago through my husband. I would be sharing a spiritual principle with him and he would say, “That’s exactly what it says in Matthew 6 (or something similar)…!” I would rush to look up that particular verse and often find not only corroboration but deeper understanding about the subject. The Bible is full to the brim with stories and verse that bring inspiration and understanding. I am glad you can appreciate it too. Blessings,
Hello Lynne
I have never read the bible but reading your interpretations offers a nice paradigm to see and interpret the world. It helps me grow and refine the lens through which i see the world.
A million Thanks for sharing.
Love and Regards
Hello Lynne
I have never read the bible but reading your interpretations offers a nice paradigm to see and interpret the world. It helps me grow and refine the lens through which i see the world.
A million for sharing.
Love and Regards
fascinating
What a beautiful and reasonable explanation of Noah and the Ark. Would you liken a daily practice to Noah’s Ark? And, yes!, I’d love to hear more about how God’s direction to Noah are relevant to my life. The Bible is such a beautiful text, and I am so glad that you are sharing the underlying meaning to the literal stories that give them life and relevance. Your insights make the Light shine through the stories.
What thoughts do you have on the parts of the Bible that are lists of names of people/ geneology. What is the purpose of this? I find that some stories, like Noah and the Ark, are beautiful and comforting, but it also seems like there is a lot in the Bible that is “filler”. Since the Bible is the word of God, then all of these seemingly trite details must have meaning, but they are often lost on me.
A daily practice is exactly what is required to build the ark within us. I’ll say more on this tomorrow. Thank you for your interest in seeing into the deeper layers of meaning contained within Bible text. I am certainly no Biblical scholar so I cannot tell you what many of the names in the Bible mean … but I can assure you that they were included in the text by intention. Hebrew was one of the few languages (& Greek) that used letters as numbers also. This mean that every word not only has a word definition which give insight into it’s meaning but also a numerical value which adds to our understanding when we know how to see it. Studying the books of the Bible is a worthy life task indeed! 🙂