Devotion on Genesis 5 - "He Will Comfort Us"

Scripture: Genesis 5:28-29

When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. ²⁹ He named him Noah and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.”

In verses 28-29, Lamech says that his son, Noah, will comfort him from the hard work of raising crops out of a God-cursed ground. Remember that one of the punishments for Adam's sin was that it would be more difficult to work the land.

Lamech was feeling the weight of that global punishment. What I find interesting is that he didn't stop working the land. It was difficult, but he didn't give up. He kept going.

What do you find difficult in your life?

Your work situation? Finances? Your health? A relationship? A loss?

There are many things that we can improve in life, but some things we can't. Some things we simply have to endure. We have to keep going through the difficulty.

But note that Lamech did not let his difficulty overshadow the rest of his life. He didn't give his problem more attention than it was worth. He was still able to find hope and comfort in something else.

We know that God will never leave us to live a completely bleak existence. He allows difficulty in our lives, but He also always provides us comfort, often in a different area of life.

I encourage you to follow Lamech's example. Endure your difficulty, but don't let it define you. Put your difficulty in perspective by finding comfort in the other areas of your life in which God has blessed you.