Fearlessly Courageous
The Desk of Dennis Piller
12 31 2025
Audio Version
“When God Says Build an Ark… and There’s Not a Cloud in Sight”
Have you ever noticed something funny about God? He rarely asks us to do the easy thing… the comfortable thing… the thing that feels logical and tidy. No, somehow God seems to specialize in calling us to things that stretch our faith, mess with our calendars, and every now and then
completely undo our plans.
I was watching Evan Almighty again recently. Yeah, it’s a comedy, but it’s also surprisingly powerful. Here’s this newly elected congressman, all polished, important, respected… and God tells him to build an ark. In modern America. With cameras rolling. Neighbors staring…. Kids confused. Wife worried. And a reputation going straight down the drain.
He fought it. He wrestled. He resisted. Just like we do. But little by little, obedience took root. And as crazy as it looked, as costly as it felt, he obeyed. The animals came. The ark was finished. Still no rain. Still no proof. Still no payoff.
That sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Sometimes God asks us to build before we see the storm.
Sometimes, he asks us to prepare before we understand why.
Sometimes He calls us to obey while heaven is still quiet, and the sky is still blue.
And then… God does what only God can do.
In the movie, the flood didn’t show up like it did for Noah or like Evan might have expected. It didn’t fall from the sky first—it came crashing through a dam. It wasn’t predictable. It wasn’t neat. But it was God. And not once did the animals hesitate. Creation obeyed instinctively. It was only the humans who struggled.
Kind of sounds like us, doesn’t it?
We struggle with control.
We struggle with letting God be God.
We struggle with surrender because we still think we’re running the show.
But obedience has never been about control; it’s about trust.
Obedience is simply saying, “God, You see tomorrow better than I see today!”
It’s believing He knows the New Year before we even step into it.
It’s taking time to talk to the Creator of tomorrow about our part in His story rather than trying to convince Him to cooperate with ours.
We love routine.
We love predictability.
We love comfort.
But routine can rock us to sleep spiritually. We get used to waking up and handling life on autopilot instead of waking up and saying, “Lord, what do You want to do in me today?
What do You want to change? Where do You want me to go?
Who do You want me to love?”
Scripture says, “His mercies are new every morning.” That means God isn’t recycling yesterday’s plan. He isn’t rerunning last year’s script. He is doing something new. The question is—
are we seeking Him enough to notice?
Maybe God isn’t calling you to build a literal ARK…
Maybe He’s calling you to repair a relationship you’d rather avoid.
Maybe it’s a habit. He’s asking you to surrender.
Maybe it’s a ministry He’s nudging you toward.
Maybe it’s simply one A.R.K. — One Act of Random Kindness at a time, because obedience doesn’t always look dramatic. Sometimes obedience looks humble, quiet, unseen, and deeply faithful.
As we stand at the doorway of a New Year, this isn’t the time to guess.
This isn’t the time to rely on our own intelligence.
This isn’t the time to use yesterday’s wisdom to face tomorrow’s battles.
This is the time to seek Him.
To sit still.
To listen.
To pray.
To ask the God who already stands in your tomorrow, pointing towards what He wants you to build, prepare for, believe for, or let go of.
Because if a flood comes of a challenge, opportunity, blessing, difficulty, or change—the safest place to be is in obedience. Not control. Not stubbornness. Not pride.
Obedience.
Do what God asks.
Trust Him with the results.
And watch Him work in ways you never saw coming.
God writes the story.
God sends the rain.
God opens the future.
We just obey.
And that… is enough.
Father, we choose obedience today—not because we understand everything, but because we trust the One who holds tomorrow. Your Word says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding… and He will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6). So direct us, Lord. Give us courage to obey, faith to keep building even when the sky is clear, and hearts that listen for Your voice daily. Do a new thing in us, and may we walk into this new season fully surrendered to Your will. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Do you know someone who needs to hear this. Pass this lesson and future devotions to someone, with this Signup link:http://eepurl.com/i_nlb2 My website to view past devotions is https://fearlesslycourageous.com
