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Tuesday, December 2

Genesis 9:1-17; Hebrews 11:32-40

鈥淥pen your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see鈥� how good God is. Blessed are you who run to Him鈥�
(Psalm 34:8, The Message).

Dear friend, have you tasted God鈥檚 goodness lately? When was the last time you savored His grace? How do we get to experience God like Noah, David, and others in the Bible?

Imagine this: Hurricane Helene destroyed your town; no one else survived; no other household pulled through the disaster; but, you and your family were miraculously saved and provided for. How would you feel? What profound grace would that be? Well, that would be nothing compared to the favor Noah received. Among the whole human race, Noah was the only man (with his family) handpicked by God, divinely instructed to build an ark, and celebrated with countless blessings including a holy covenant sealed with a rainbow.

What an honor! Well, if you read about the characters mentioned in Hebrews 11:32-40, you will find that Noah is definitely not alone. History, from a Christian鈥檚 perspective, is really His鈥攕tory, filled with His goodness toward His children.

Would you like to taste God鈥檚 goodness in your life? Would you like the favor from God like Noah had? How, then, did Noah get God鈥檚 favor? Well, because he 鈥渨as a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God鈥� (Genesis 6:9). To gain God鈥檚 favor, the question is: How righteous are we? How closely are we walking with Him? Sometimes, people say that their prayers are not heard. I encourage you, my friend, to pray this, 鈥淕od, do you regard me as your friend? What is it about me that you don鈥檛 like? What can I change to please you?鈥� You will know His response immediately.

Personally, I have endless stories about God鈥檚 faithfulness and goodness. If you do not know me, I grew up in Beijing, China. Receiving an atheistic education, I became curious about whether there was a God. Living in a high-pressure environment, I wished there was a God, and I often pleaded to my God in desperation (although I didn鈥檛 know they were called 鈥減rayers鈥�). Surprisingly, I got answers; furthermore, my God disciplined me constantly, especially when my sins and arrogance was not known to anyone else, which proved His presence more than the answered pleas. God鈥檚 presence in my life was so consistent, that I always knew there was a God. To find this God, I read various religious literature available in China and knelt in multiple temples, but my God was never there.

When I came to the US for my Ph.D., I read the Bible for the first time, and immediately recognized Him. Many teachings in the Bible felt like d茅j脿 vu鈥擨 learned them in unspoken ways while in China, and now, they鈥檙e clearly articulated in the Bible.

During this Advent season, I pray that we all withdraw from the distractions around, retreat to the presence of the Holy Spirit, repent whatever in us that is not pleasing to Him, and get to taste His goodness in a most intimate way. Amen!

Lily Xiao
Professor of Management
Information Systems