Josh McDowell's Youth DevotionsSample

A PHONE CALL FOR NOAH. Noah was busy in his workshop one day when his son Ham handed him a cordless phone. (OK, so they didn't have phones back then, but just play along.) "Hello?" Noah said. He listened for a few moments. "Who is this? ... You've got to be kidding! . . . No, no . . . no, Lord, don't hang up! I believe you. . .. It's just. . . well, it's not every day a man gets a call from the Creator, you know." Noah fell silent again and listened solemnly. "Well, yes, Lord, you're right. Things are pretty bad. I mean, every morning I have to pick up ten or twelve beer cans from my front yard." Noah's eyes widened as he heard God's next words. "Are ... are you ..." He swallowed hard and began again. "Are you s-s-sure you want to do that, Lord? I mean, sure everybody's pretty wicked, but I was thinking maybe we could start a home Bible study or something. . . . Oh, that's right, I forgot. The Bible hasn't been written yet." Suddenly, Noah snatched a pencil and a scrap of paper from his workbench and started scribbling notes in response to the instructions coming through the phone. "Uh-huh," he said. "OK, 450 feet long ... right... 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high." He looked at the figures in amazement. "That's a pretty big boat, Lord," he said. "In fact, it's huge!" He stopped writing then and concentrated on listening. He couldn't believe his ears. "Lord," he said, finally, "do you know what you're asking? I mean, people are going to think I'm nuts! Just the lumber alone is going to drain the family bank account-we've been saving for a vacation on the Euphrates River, you know. And how am I going to tell my wife?" He listened for a while. When he spoke again, his voice was quiet and determined. "No, Lord, you're right. I'll do it. I know it won't be easy, but I'll do it. . . . Right. Thanks for calling." That was stupid, he told himself as he hung up. The Creator of the universe calls and you say, "Thanks for calling"! REFLECT: Do you think it was easy for Noah to do "everything exactly as God had commanded him"? Why or why not? Do you think Noah was tempted to give up or change his mind during the years it probably took him to build the ark? Was Noah's choice harder, easier, or about the same as the choices you face? Why is it important to do the right thing even when doing the right thing is difficult? PRAY: "God, sometimes I don't do the right thing because I'm afraid people will make fun of me. Please help me to keep my eyes on you and do the right thing anyway."