“Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” Luke 5:5
My husband bought a used car for his second job. Aesthetically, it was in good shape and we got it for a good deal, but we soon discovered it caused hundreds of dollars in repairs. Every month, we had a new repair coming to us. He came to me the fourth month and told me there was yet another repair to make. I’d had enough. As we discussed, my husband asked if we could sell the car, cut our losses, and try for another vehicle. Our daughter had purchased her used car for an affordable price just a few months prior. “Maybe we could get another car like that,” I told him. “Impossible,” he replied. “Car prices are outrageous right now. We’ll never get a quality car at that price.”
But God in his sovereignty knew better. A car came on our social media feed, and we found it at the right price; the exact price we agreed to. In addition to low mileage and a clean title, it was only one town away. We went to look at it, and within 12 hours, we purchased the car at the exact price my daughter had bought her at months before. “And you said it would be impossible to get a car for that price,” I joked with him later. “I know,” he said, “God had a better plan in mind.”
We always think we have a better way. Simon Peter thought he knew the way, too. He had fished those lakes many times before. He had been there all night and had not caught anything. Peter didn’t think he’d catch any fish. But Jesus knew better. He knew that Peter could enjoy abundant fish with his—and the Holy Spirit’s—help.
But what might have hindered Peter from enjoying that blessing was his pride. Interestingly, Peter prefaces the saying, “because you say so,” with, “we've been here all night and haven’t caught a thing.” It was as if he was informing Jesus of the situation. Peter was blind to the fact that he thought he knew more about that lake than Jesus did. But little did he know, Jesus had a better way. Because he chose to be obedient and listen to Jesus, he enjoyed an unexpected blessing he may not have had otherwise.
If we had continued believing that we could not get a car for an affordable price like our daughter’s, we would have missed out on the unexpected blessing of a great vehicle that God would present to us in just a few hours. The key to enjoying God's blessing is our obedience. We must be humble and allow Jesus to light our way. It can be challenging, especially when we have tried everything we know to do. When we seek the Lord, are in his presence, and listen to his voice, he orders our steps, lights our path, and allows us to enjoy unexpected blessings that we would not have apart from his presence.
Is there an area in your life where you feel God will not move because you know everything about the situation? Perhaps you've given up on praying for a prodigal son or daughter simply because you've tried everything, and nothing has worked. Maybe you've listened for God’s voice but feel he has gone silent. Maybe you've been praying for a job situation or health crisis and feel you've come up empty. But God is not done speaking. He will let us know when a problem is solved when he says it is, not when we say it is. When we listen to God's voice and obey his leadership, even when we've tried everything to make a situation work, we enjoy an unexpected blessing as God turns our situation around for our good and his glory.
Father, help us listen to your voice. Let us fall on our knees with humility and repentance when Jesus shows us the way in our situation that we have not seen ourselves. Let us not allow our pride to believe we know everything about a problem. Instead, let us give it to you and let you have your way in every area of our lives. Amen.
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Related Resource: Jesus Calling - Stories of Faith
Kerry Washington, Andrea Bocelli, Reba McEntire, Mark Wahlberg, Tony Dungy, and Matthew McConaughey—what do all of these people have in common? They are all people of faith who have leaned on God in both the good and challenging times—and they’ve shown up to tell their stories of faith on The Jesus Calling Podcast. The Jesus Calling Podcast provides a place for people from all walks of life to share the heartaches, joys, and divine moments that keep them going.
Inspired by Sarah Young's classic devotional book, the Jesus Calling podcast has brought encouragement and peace to millions. New episodes drop every Thursday! Listen today on LifeAudio.com or wherever you find your podcasts.
Originally published Thursday, 01 August 2024.
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