The Promise of a Flood
It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.
Genesis 9:14-16 NKJV
Jade, floods are symbolic for a number of things in life, but in the bible, a flood usually represents a cleansing or a reckoning. One seems good while the other seems bad, but both are good. But a flood always leads to a promise. At the time I am writing this, in the world there have been a number of floods that have been highly deadly and destructive, even for children. Yet I could say that Pentecost was a flood of the Holy Spirit, and that was a great thing. I wrote in my journal over a year ago, specifically July 21, 2025, that I was being “flooded with a new hunger for God and all things spiritual.” And I just want to delve in what the word “flood” represents to me. I also wrote on that day:
“Whenever there is a major flood, like in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, I feel such a sadness about the number of lives lost, and the Texas flood disaster is no different. It stirs something up in me like no other disaster does. Then today Theo of the Cosby Show died by drowning in the ocean at the age of 54, and I don’t know… water can be good but it can also be destructive if there’s too much. So in my case, there has to be a balance in life. I know the word of God is good for me, but because of my mental health I don’t want to get too unhealthily obsessed with any one thing (if I’m wrong about this God, please show me). In the past I tended to get too “caught up” in over-analyzing scripture and get a totally wrong interpretation, which I thought was right. I think I’m going to read the book of Job again. Maybe I’ll have a better understanding this time, now that I’m not so stressed or angry with life like was the first time I read it when I was just turning into an adult. I’m in a healthier state of mind now, so I think I can read it with a new perspective. I’ll at least give it a try.”
I did read the book of Job that day, and parts of it on a number of occasions since then. You could say that Job’s life was flooded with sorrow and suffering. In thinking of my mental health journey, I have been also flooded with confusion, sorrow, and improper thinking… yet the more and more I see you grow and develop, I am flooded with love and joy and just… awe. Awe that God would bless me in such a way, and in many other ways. Awe that He would give me my mind back so I could experience and witness this. Awe that I can see His blessings and “feel” His spirit operating through me. I’m by no means perfect, but now I can see the purpose of the pain. I can glorify His name not because life is perfect (it by no means is), but the testimony of Christ changing my heart is more valuable than never experiencing pain and suffering. I am not glorifying suffering; I am just stating that suffering has a purpose, or God Himself would not have sent His Son to suffer on our behalf.
I was concerned back then that a flood only had a negative connotation. An area can be flooded with drugs, or water can flood a neighborhood and cause destruction. But what happens when a flood destroys a neighborhood? You clean up the destruction and rebuild. Or you allow nature to take over. Either way, floods can lead to purification and restoration. But it can take a while to get to the part where things are restored. A flood always leads to a promise from God.
Pentecost comes to mind when thinking about a positive flood: the flood of the Holy Spirit.
And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. Joel 2:28 NKJV
This is a prophecy—a promise, in essence—in the book of Joel that began to come to pass in chapter 2 of the book of Acts, after Jesus was resurrected. But this is true even today. God is pouring out His spirit on us, and now we have to make a choice to receive it. This flood is purifying my heart, and this will benefit you, Jade, when you become old enough to understand my testimony.
I wrote that journal entry mentioned a month before you were conceived, when I was 38. You were not even a thought on my mind, nor a conscious meditation of my heart. But God knew you were a desire of my heart, of that I’m sure. Yet, maybe you can see that at that time before you were conceived I had been flooded with the Holy Spirit due to a yearning for God that I had been devoid of for a long time… a long, long time. I didn’t know what was coming next in my life, but a promise was fulfilled. I knew of God and His goodness somehow at an early age, and He had blessed me with gifts, including intelligence, that at the time I didn’t know what to do with. But when I say I was flooded with suffering at an early age as well, I truly was. I do believe that I was like Job in the sense that the devil came to God and said, “Stretch out Your hand and touch [her mind], and she will surely curse You to Your face!”
That quote was in reference to Job 1:11, and even though I’m putting myself in a bible verse, I do believe that the one thing I had faith in was taken from me in order to get me to curse God. One thing I can honestly say is that I don’t think I have ever cursed God for what I have gone through. He will surely bring it to my memory if I have. I have cried, I have wondered why I had to go through what I have gone through, and I have been supremely ashamed of my bad behavior, but what must have been instilled in me at an early age is to take accountability for my behavior and mistakes. We may not know the motives or the evil we have inside us, but when it is revealed, it is important to own it. I have read the book of Job at different times in my life, and the verse that stood out to me about his suffering was this:
So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. Job 32:1 NKJV
One thing about this mental health journey that I am on: your mind, which is full of evil intentions if not submitted to God, can make you righteous in your own eyes. Another verse that spoke to me that was spoken by Elihu, who was listening to Job and his three friends go back and forth on the reasons for his suffering, said this:
I said, ‘Age should speak, And multitude of years should teach wisdom.’ But there is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding. Great men are not always wise, Nor do the aged always understand justice. Job 32:7-9 NKJV
“There is a spirit in a man”… that phrase ignites something in me every time I read it. I know you are young now, but you have a spirit even at your young age. And even at your young age you will have an understanding that may surpass those who are older than you or think they know more than you. You are not perfect, and you will be tested and have to learn whatever lesson God is trying to teach you, as did Job, even when you think you are doing everything right. I had to learn not to rely on my mind or my ability, but everything that proceeds out for of the mouth of the Lord. I had to learn to listen to the spirit that is within me, and even though I was learning this a young age, my life was flooded with suffering to purify me... to keep me humble. Job had to repent of self-righteousness, as did I. Just because you think you are following God’s commandments doesn’t mean you will be immune to suffering. God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Job states after the Lord speaks to him,
Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes. Job 42:6 NKJV
A flood leads to repentance or thanksgiving, and that is key. Both of those things are good, even if it doesn’t feel like it. I think this is often missed in the story of Job, and why I mentioned that scripture at the beginning of this devotional. The flood leads to a cleansing and a promise from the Lord. Repentance is the key to salvation, which comes by humility. We cannot live this life in our own might or swear by our own greatness based on the gifts that God so generously has given us. People are going to judge us, as Job’s friends did, when you fall. But if you do not curse God, which Job also did not do, you will see how God is trying to purify you and make you into more of His image. But Jade, the key, I must say again, is repentance and thanksgiving. You do not go through suffering in this life for nothing, because God can use any flood in this life to change your heart and purify you. If you are flooded with pain and suffering, or you lost the very thing you are dependent on, just know that its purpose is to bring you closer to God. And also, intelligence plus experience equals wisdom. Your suffering can lead you to being flooded with knowledge and wisdom, and isn’t that something to be thankful for?
This reminds me of the blind man that the disciples of Jesus asked Him about.
Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:1-5 NKJV
And that is what I want you to take from any flood you may encounter in this life Jade. It is all used to glorify God and His kingdom. A flood always points to a promise of God. You may not understand why things are happening the way they are, but if you are alive, God will use those experiences to purify you and bring you closer to Him. Every person has to learn this lesson, but you do have a choice on whether to accept this truth or not. I love you Jade, and God loves you as well.
