Wednesday 7/28/2021 Devotional

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him to His heart. ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭6:5-6‬ This is the beginning of the story of the Flood, when God decided to wipe out the entire human race except for Noah and his family. He saw that the whole rest of the human race was beyond redemption, so in His mercy He brought it to an end. God is eternal; He sees the end from the beginning, and everything in between. When He made man, He knew what would happen. He knew the flood would be necessary. He knew what it would eventually cost Him personally to redeem a few of these rebellious creatures. One would not expect that God, being all-powerful, above time and space, would be emotionally affected by what we do here on earth. But in the Bible, God reveals Himself as very much aware of and in touch with His creation. As the entire human race sank deeper into depravity, abuse, and violence God saw it all and His heart was grieved. He was sorry that He had made man on the earth. God sees what goes on in the world around us today, too. He has seen the abuse that you have suffered and He knows the horrors that go on in the dark places of the earth. He sees the human trafficking, torture and enslavement. He sees the cruelty and child abuse. He sees the shameful conspiracy to use public schools to groom innocent children to be lifelong victims of abortion mills and permanently dependent on medical treatments for incurable sexually transmitted diseases. All of this grieves His heart today just as it did in the days of Noah. But He also sees those whom He will rescue and save by the grace and mercy He has poured out in Jesus. His plan is to redeem you and me and that plan is so wonderful He considers it worth allowing the entire human race to continue to exist in order to save His own beloved children. Lord Jesus, my heart is grieved, too, as I see what goes on around me. I confess that I have not only stood by in silence and done nothing to stop it, I have even been a part of it in many ways. Forgive me and deliver me and all Your children from the evil in our time. Fulfill Your purpose in me. Keep me close to You. Amen.