Leading The Way - Devotional for February 9
February 9, 2026
Wholehearted Worship
By Michael A. Youssef, Ph.D.
Six hundred years after Abraham, Joshua came to the same place where Abraham had built an altar to the Lord in response to His gracious promises (see Genesis 12:6-7). So at Shechem, Joshua reviews the blessings of God—His incredible works on behalf of Israel—and then challenges God’s people to respond. God doesn’t want our half-hearted worship. Joshua told the people, “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).
We should not just worship God half-heartedly or serve Him out of feelings of obligation. God does not want us to just go through the motions while our hearts are focused on worldly things. God wants us to serve Him alone, regardless of what others are doing or what people will think of us.
Have you been suffering from “spiritual amnesia”? Have you forgotten God’s past mercies as if you had never received them? Have you allowed your present troubles to blot out all memory of God’s past faithfulness and interventions? Have you neglected to praise Him for His past provision and blessings?
Don’t allow your forgetfulness to distract you from God’s present work for you. If you are holding back from sharing about Christ because of spiritual complacency, then seek God’s forgiveness. If you have forgotten how God has given you past victories and are fearful of stepping out in faith, then repent of that today.
Prayer: God, help me to serve and worship You wholeheartedly, regardless of what others think of me. You are worthy of all praise and adoration, in all seasons and circumstances. Thank You for all that You have done and are doing in my life. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
“I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths, from the realm of the dead” (Psalm 86:12-13).
Learn more in Dr. Michael A. Youssef’s sermon You Want Me to Do What?, Part 12: LISTEN NOW
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Watch Dr. Michael Youssef on this week's broadcast of Leading The Way at LightSource.com.
