Leading The Way - Devotional for August 25
August 25, 2026
Faith That Leads to Obedience
By Michael A. Youssef, Ph.D.
Sometimes God calls us to work that requires us to give up something we hold dear. Other times He asks us to step out of our comfort zones in order to share His Gospel with others, whether one-on-one with a neighbor or by speaking to a large group. It is natural to feel some resistance to the difficult and self-sacrificing tasks that God calls us to, but in the end, we must obey God. For faith can only be demonstrated through obedient action.
Read Genesis 6 and 7. Noah’s faith led him to obey God, even to do a task that did not make sense at the time. Can you imagine the concerns and questions that Noah had when God told him to build the ark? Regardless of any misgivings Noah may have felt, Scripture clearly tells us that “Noah did all that the Lord commanded him” (Genesis 7:5).
Noah heeded the Word of God. For 120 years before the flood, God had entrusted Noah with a secret and a puzzling task—build a ship on dry land. Noah had likely never even seen an ocean! But he heeded God’s Word, and God privileged him with building what later became the symbol of God’s redemption to mankind.
Noah also hastened to proclaim God’s warning. He kept preaching righteousness, building, and inviting. Similarly, as you build your ark of life on Christ by faith, you are handing out invitations; you are announcing, “Come! Jesus loves you; He died on the cross for you. Will you come to Christ? Heed the warning before it is too late. Don’t despise His invitation.”
Through their faithful obedience, Noah and his family inherited the earth. They inherited God’s wealth. Now, Noah was not perfect. He was born in sin and messed up royally, but his obedience with the ark was rewarded.
If we truly trust in God and His Word and promises, then we will fully obey Him. Anyone can say they have faith, but the people who actually live by faith will act in obedience to God no matter where God leads them. Noah’s faith led him to obey God—even in a task that seemed overwhelming and perplexing.
Prayer: God, help me to have the kind of faith that Noah had—faith that leads to obedience no matter how overwhelming the task. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith” (Hebrews 11:7).
Learn more in Dr. Michael A. Youssef’s sermon They Were Just like Us, The Work of Faith: LISTEN NOW
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Watch Dr. Michael Youssef on this week's broadcast of Leading The Way at LightSource.com.
