The flood narrative takes a beautiful turn when we read that “God remembered Noah.” It is not that God had misplaced the ark somewhere in the vast ocean and suddenly said, “Oh yes, I left Noah out there!” In Scripture, when God “remembers,” it signals that He is about to act according to His promise. God’s remembrance is not recollection—it is restoration. He always proves faithful to those who are faith-filled. The old Gospel hymn captures this so well: “Great is Thy faithfulness, O God, my Father; there is no shadow of turning with Thee.” I sometimes wish modern praise songs had lyrics that could rival those lines. My favorite stanza seems to echo this very passage in Genesis: “Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest, sun, moon, and stars in their courses above, join with all nature in manifold witness to Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.” It is as though all creation sings Noah’s song—God keeps His promises, and His mercies are new every morning.
After the floodwaters receded, God not only spared Noah and his family but also blessed them and the earth itself. When Noah built an altar and offered his sacrifice, God “smelled the sweet aroma” and promised never again to destroy all life by flood. He said, “I will never again curse the ground because of man… neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.” That was more than mercy—it was grace. Then God added what I like to think was His own song: “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” It is a divine melody that has played continuously ever since. Every sunrise, every harvest, every rhythm of nature hums the same refrain: God is faithful. You can almost hear the music in your morning coffee—steam rising to heaven like Noah’s sacrifice, a quiet reminder that God remembers still.
In Jesus, that faithfulness reached its highest harmony. Just as God remembered Noah, He remembered us in our storm. Paul wrote, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son” (Galatians 4:4). Jesus calmed the ultimate flood—not of water but of sin. His cross became our ark, carrying us safely through judgment into new life. “If we are faithless,” Paul told Timothy, “He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13). From the rainbow to the resurrection, the song remains the same: “Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.”