Genesis 6:3
And the Lord said, 'My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.
God said enough. The Spirit would no longer strive with man. Enough had become ENOUGH. Of unrepentant sin. Of rampant sexuality. Of hearts which got up every morning and went to sleep every night planning and scheming and thinking only of iniquity. God said enough!
While a parent or teacher sometimes reaches a breaking point with the kids and acts out in sinful anger, surely that wasn't the case with God. He acted, instead, out of a righteous anger. God's patience and long-suffering had come to an end. Enough was enough. The Spirit would strive with mankind no longer.
You remember the story of the Great Flood. With enough, God withdrew his Spirit in righteous anger and destroyed the earth in a flood. But don't miss the rest of the story. It wasn't just an account of judgment. Noah found grace with God. Rest assured, grace had not been lost and wasn't in need of being searched for and found as some missing object. In fact, grace had never gone away at all. The Spirit's presence, even in striving with men was an act of God's grace.
So why did Noah find God's grace? I think it was because his life was surrendered unto the Lord. He was given in to the Holy Spirit of God. But for the rest of the people, the Spirit would not continue to strive. Grace was withdrawn.
Be warned, the Spirit will not always strive with sinful man. If we continue to resist the direction God is leading or pushing us, God may just give up on us. Enough is enough. Sometimes, there are no second chances.
The good news is that the Lord is still in the business of giving away grace. God would much rather touch you with the Spirit's grace than to strive with you. He wants to give you his love, but like those first generations, we face a choice. We can come to God in obedience and find grace, or we can strive with the Spirit and face God's righteous wrath.
Let Noah's flood tell the story. There can be no doubt God will not continue to strive forever with our sins.
LORD JESUS
Though we rightfully live in fear of striving with your Spirit, we all the more lift up our hearts in thanksgiving for your grace. May you turn us from striving and teach our hearts to be surrendered unto you. Amen.
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