When the Waters Recede

Date: Monday, December 1, 2025

Readings: Psalm 124 | Genesis 8:1–19 | Romans 6:1–11

After months adrift in a world swallowed by chaos, Noah hears the words every weary soul longs for: “God remembered Noah.” The flood did not have the final word; God did. Genesis 8 shows us a God who breaks the silence, who brings wind to push back the waters, who opens a future when everything seems lost. In a world drowning today in burnout, polarization, and digital exhaustion, this reminder lands with force: God has not forgotten us.

Paul carries the theme forward in Romans 6. The flood becomes a foreshadow of baptism; an old self buried, a new creation rising. Advent invites us to confront the waters in our own lives: the habits that enslave, the anxieties that sweep over us, the despair that whispers that change is impossible. But resurrection power is already at work. The same God who brought Noah out onto dry ground is the God who pulls us into freedom.

Psalm 124 echoes, “If the Lord had not been on our side…” The world’s floods are real, but so is God’s rescue. Step onto the ark’s open ramp. Breathe the new air of hope. The stormy waters do not define you. God does.

Devotional Prompts:

• Where do you feel overwhelmed, and how might God be “remembering” you right now?
• What “old” patterns is God inviting you to leave behind?
• How does baptism shape your identity in seasons of uncertainty?
• Where have you recently seen God pull you out of rising waters?

Prayer Lord of rescue and renewal, remember us again in these Advent days. Push back the waters that surround us and lift us into your newness of life. Give us courage to rise with Christ and hope to walk where you lead. Amen.