By Faith: The Faith of Noah

Being prepared means knowing something is coming and choosing to get ready for it. Noah gives us a powerful picture of what it means to live prepared. God warned Noah about something he could not yet see—a coming flood—and Noah responded with faith. But Noah’s faith wasn’t simply believing that God was telling the truth. His faith moved him to action. He built the ark.

Hebrews 11 tells us that Noah was “forewarned by God” and, because of his faith, he prepared an ark for the saving of his family. Noah had never seen a flood. It had never rained before. Yet he trusted what God said enough to obey, even when he couldn’t see the outcome.

That is what faith looks like. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God, but faith doesn’t stop with hearing. Faith leads to obedience. James reminds us that faith apart from works is dead. We can say we believe, but our lives should begin to reflect what we believe.

Noah spent years building something that probably looked foolish to everyone around him. People could see the ark taking shape, and they likely wondered what he was doing. But Noah continued to follow God’s instructions. He kept building.

The same is true for us. Following Jesus means becoming more like Jesus. We cannot imitate someone we don’t know, and we cannot know Jesus without spending time in His Word. The more we read Scripture, hear biblical teaching, surround ourselves with people who are pursuing Christ, and put God’s Word into practice, the more our lives begin to change. Sometimes we may not notice the change day by day, but eventually others will see that something is different in us.

We are all building something.

The question is: What are you building, and are you building it according to God’s Word?

There will be storms in life. There will be struggles in our marriages, families, relationships, and personal lives. We can choose to ignore those things and return to our old ways, or we can become “boat builders”—people who are willing to follow God’s instructions, seek wisdom, and keep growing.

And we were never meant to build alone.

We need people around us who are further along in their walk with Christ—people who know God’s Word, live it out, and can help us navigate the storms when they come. Paul said, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” We need people who are building their lives around Jesus and who will encourage us to keep building ours.

Being prepared isn’t about knowing every detail of what is coming. It’s about knowing the One who does. Jesus has given us His Word so that we can know how to live, how to love, how to navigate difficulty, and how to remain faithful.

So, keep building.

Open the Word. Study it. Follow it. Surround yourself with people who are pursuing Jesus. Let your faith become more than something you say—let it become something you live.

The goal isn’t to build a kingdom for ourselves here on earth. We are building for the kingdom of heaven, longing for the day when we can hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Start building today. Then build again tomorrow. And the next day.

Are you ready for the storm?
Keep building your boat.