Opening Prayer: Lord, I am yours; I do yield myself up
entirely to you, and I believe that you do take me. I leave myself with you. Work in me all the good pleasure of your
will, and I will only lie still in your hands and trust you. Amen. (The Christian’s Secret of a Happy
Life by Hannah Whitall Smith)
Scripture: Luke 5:1-11
Journal: What is Jesus telling you to do these days that, on
the surface of it, doesn’t seem to make much sense? Is there any way (or place) he is telling you
to put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch? Will you?
Reflection:
It just didn’t make any sense. I mean, they had fished all night
long—professional fishermen, mind you—and had caught nothing. Nothing.
Not a single thing! All of their
effort and all of their toil and all of their skill had produced zero
results. And now Jesus comes along and
tells them to put out into deep water and let down their nets for a catch. Oh sure.
Easy for him to say. He hadn’t
just spent the entire night continuously tossing nets into a seemingly fishless
sea. And who was he to tell them how to
fish anyway? He was a carpenter for
crying out loud!
But you have to love their response: “Because
you say so, we will let down our nets.”
It doesn’t make any sense. I’m tired,
I’m worn out, I’m exhausted. I’ve been
at this for a long, long time. I’m at
the end of my rope. And I don’t
understand how this could possibly do any good.
I’d really just like to give up—call it a day. But because you say so, I will let down my
nets.
Where in your life are you feeling that
way? Where has living by your own agenda, your
own adequacies, and relying on your own skills left you empty? Are you ready now to listen to him? Are you ready now to do things his
way—whatever that might mean? Are you
ready to “let go and let God,” as the old saying goes? Ask God what that looks like in your life and
world today. You might be surprised at
the results. They sure were.
Prayers
Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to do your will, to follow
your call, even when it doesn’t seem to make any sense. Amen.
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