We all think about the fun and excitement of a big game, but we are at our best only if we have been committed to working hard in preparation beforehand. In baseball, we like to dream about getting the game-winning hit or throwing the rally-ending strike out, but that will likely only come true if we put sweat and practice into making ourselves better. Baseball success, like any other sport, comes when we do the behind-the-scenes work. This means that when we are at home, we need to be running, doing the exercises our coaches assign and getting enough sleep. And in practice, we must work on mechanics, think through game situations and do all the repetitions of batting, running the bases and backing up throws. All of this preparation gets us ready for game time.

Noah was ready for game time. When he was 600 years old, he was ready to get aboard the ark for a journey with seven family members and two of every kind of land animal and bird (seven of each kind of clean animal). How do we know that Noah was ready? His lifetime of training had led him to where God needed him to be. Genesis 6:9 says, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries; Noah walked with God.” Wow! Can God say that about you?

This all took place 10 generations after God made Adam. The world hated God and was an evil, violent, corrupt place. Noah was the only human left who loved God with all of his heart, mind and action. So, when God decided to send a worldwide flood to destroy every living creature not on the ark, he spared Noah and his family. But in order to be spared, Noah had to prepare by carry out God's project: building that ark. The ark was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and three stories tall. At 100,000 square feet of living and storage space, the ark was about the same total size as a Major League Baseball field--big enough to hold about 25,000 animals, eight people and enough food and water for the 375-day adventure.

Noah was prepared; he had done his training. He had a godly lifestyle and habits, a genuine faith in God and a personal relationship with Him through prayer. When the construction of the ark was complete, the Bible says that Noah did everything that God had commanded him (Genesis 6:22).

When the flood came, Noah was ready. What about you? Are you ready for the “floods” of life today? It's not too late to start preparing!