I was reading a story in my Bible that I have read countless times, but today God revealed something new. Now this may be something you know already, but for me, it was an eye opener. So bare with me if you’ve already made this connection as I tend to be a little slow at times (wink).
Luke 5:1-11, Four Fishermen Called as Disciples
It’s the story of when Jesus tells Simon Peter to let down his nets to fish after Simon and his buddies had fished all night without success.
You know the story, Simon tells Jesus that he fished all night but if He wanted him to do it, he would. I can hear him in my head (or hear what I would be thinking), “Okay Jesus, I’m going to listen to you, but I think you’re wrong. I’ve been fishing for a LONG time, I know fish, it’s what I do, but okay I’ll listen to you. You’re a carpenter right?”
Anyway, he lets down his nets and catches TONS of fish!
Go Team God! Jesus was right and we are taught the importance of listening to Jesus despite what our rational minds say. But that is not it…
After Simon witnessed Jesus’ majesty he says, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” vs. 8. Again, I got the noticeable message…once we come to understand the Lords awesomeness we realize we are not worthy, but He loves us anyways.
Next part I was still up to speed with the obvious…Jesus calls them to be fishers of men and Simon and the other three leave all and immediately follow. Clearly, we are all to follow after Christ, putting Him above everything else in our lives. And we are to follow His commands immediately…not on our own time table.
But what was revealed to me (I repeat, I can be slow…you probably already connected these dots) was that Jesus allowed them to see His power at work BEFORE He asked them to leave everything and become fishers of men.
We all have different levels of faith, for some they will follow willingly and gladly at the first calling. Others need a little coaxing. Some need to witness the Power of Christ before they can make the leap of faith to follow.
To my limited knowledge it is rare that somebody accepts Christ into their lives and immediately becomes a great missionary in a third world country and possibly dies while endeavoring to be a fisher of men. Most people I know go through years of spiritual growth before undertaking such tasks.
The point God was telling me was that each day I grow. Each day my faith expands and I don’t need to worry about how I will handle certain situations in the future. He will provide what I need when I need it. In the mean time I am witnessing Gods power; I am stretching my faith as He is teaching me daily how to be a fisherman. I don’t have to know how to do it all right now.
Simon Peter didn’t know everything. He spent time following Jesus, learning how to be a Christian before going off on his own. The important thing was that after he witnessed Jesus’ authority and power he was obedient, he didn’t ask for time to say goodbye, to tie up loose ends, he simply followed. Because he knew whatever Jesus said was more important than what he was able to rationalize.
God knows what we need. He will provide the tools necessary to accomplish what He calls us to do. He realizes that sometimes we need to witness a miracle (however big or small) before we can spread our spiritual wings and fly. Each life experience can be a stepping stone leading us to our next calling. We simply must be open to learning, open to listening, and have the faith to follow despite what we can comprehend.
Has God ever tested your faith beyond what you could comprehend? What did you learn from it?
No comments:
Post a Comment