Priorities are foundational for God to build things in our lives—His agenda is first and foremost. We must not get distracted from our priorities and allow our lives to be out of sync. If you’re interested in what it takes to build your own “ark” with God like Noah did, here are some tangible steps.
First, be a risk taker. You will make mistakes and blunders along the way, but remember this: you will always rise after a fall! So, go ahead and start that business or ministry, or go back to school. It’s so easy to limit ourselves with thoughts of, “I can’t do that,” or “I don’t have time for that,” but we were all created with the capacity and ability to do great things in this life. Others may think you’re crazy but follow God’s agenda for your life anyway. One of the best things you can do in life is to lead by example. People are always watching what we do and how we respond to things. We’re role models for family members, children, friends, and colleagues. They see how we handle difficulties, what we’re passionate about, and how we spend our time. If they want to be like us, they’ll try to emulate the good they see. If they notice things that aren’t helpful or healthy, they’ll try to avoid those behaviors. This is a two-way street: if we want the ones who look up to us to be the people God called them to be, we must set a good example for them.
Next, choose your associates wisely as you build. Jesus was very conscious of the disciples He chose to be part of His ministry. He knew their strengths, weaknesses, and everything in between. He knew that Judas would betray Him, Peter would deny Him three times, and Thomas would be skeptical. However, Jesus also knew they could be trusted to do what was needed and share the gospel with others. No two people are alike; we each have different gifts and talents to contribute. To ensure we’re making good decisions about who’ll understand our assignment and help us succeed in it, we must pray and seek guidance from the Spirit regularly to help us in this process.
Lastly, we must evaluate constantly. When Noah was building the ark, he had to be mindful to constantly evaluate the process and ensure he was following the plans God laid out for him. We have to make sure we constantly evaluate our lives, making sure we are on target and our plans line up with God’s. If we aren’t careful, it’s easy to start doing things independently. We must be honest with ourselves to discover what’s working well and what is not working. When building a life pleasing to God, we need to be mindful of following the blueprints that He gives us.
Remember that with God, nothing is impossible! You may not know how things’ll work out, but if you look at each day as a new opportunity to surrender your desires and actions to Him, He’ll take care of the rest. Use your creativity for His glory. God is calling people worldwide to build His kingdom and mature the body of Christ through their work, and He is also calling you! Decide to hear what God is calling you to build, and JUST GO DO IT! You might be the one person He’s looking for to create something new and beautiful on the earth!
Check out Part 1 of Build Yourself an Ark HERE.
