Genesis 6:8 – Noah Walked with God

Genesis 6:8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Chapter 6 starts off describing just how wicked the human race had become and how God had decided to wipe them all out because He “regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.” Genesis 6:6. It looks bleak for mankind in the first 7 verses.

With that as the backdrop and buildup, we get hit with today’s verse, “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” No matter how bleak things get, the light of God will never be extinguished. The darkness will not win! There will always be a remnant that believe. There will always be a torchbearer, a voice of truth, a new morning each day. In his day, Noah was that light. We read in verse 9, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.” Righteous, blameless, and faithful. That was Noah. A light shining bright in the midst of the surrounding darkness.

That’s not me. At least that’s not how I feel about myself. I’ve blown it too many times. But I want to be like Noah. I want to be a light. But how? Have you ever felt that way? Like you want to do good, be good, make a difference for good, and then you look in the mirror and see all the ways you don’t measure up and wonder how in the world could God use you?

I think the answer lies buried in verse 9. The NIV translation does an injustice by adding the word faithfully to verse 9. To me, that puts the ownness on me. The Hebrew is, “Noah walked with God.” Our job in all of this is to walk with God. It doesn’t say, “Noah walked perfectly with God” or “Noah was the best at walking with God” or even “Noah always walked with God”. Just, “Noah walked with God.” That seems a little more doable. That gives me hope.

Do you want to be a light to your generation? Fill in the blank with your name. ____________ walked with God!