Noah is a beautiful example of one who lived a life of hope. He lived in a culture where men and women had forgotten God. The Lord Jesus describes the culture of Noah’s day, saying, “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark” (Mt. 24:37–38). Life was being lived leaving God completely out of the picture, not giving Him a thought! This is very much like our day today. Noah stands as an example to us of what living a life of hope really looks like.

Noah had hope in God, even when things were unpleasant all around Him. In Genesis 6, we read of the conditions of the heart of man in Noah’s time, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (v. 5). But in spite of the culture around him, Noah hoped in his God, believed His word, and did everything just as God commanded him (v. 22).

Just like today, hoping in God was an unpopular thing. Peter describes Noah as “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Pet. 2:5), not only by what he spoke, but by the way he lived out the hope he had in his God! Noah’s hope led him to trust in the word of God, even if God did not seem to be in a hurry. Noah labored, building the ark for about 120 years, which gave plenty of time for ridicule from the skeptics of his day. Like Noah, we can hope in our God concerning the future. The details may be veiled to us, but our future is certain in His loving, all-powerful hands.