“So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.”
Luke 5:11
We started the conversation about Peter’s miraculous experience with Jesus yesterday. Jesus came to Peter at his low moment and asked for his boat. Ordinarily, such a frustrated man shouldn’t be willing to release his boat but having received healing from Jesus (for his mother-in-law) he thought it best to release this to Jesus. To be honest, Peter doesn’t need a lot of faith to release his boat to Jesus; there’s really nothing much at stake here (He is not losing the boat, Jesus is only borrowing it temporarily).
However, when Jesus finished teaching, he asked Peter to put out into the deep. Yesterday, we examined a little of why this instruction in itself makes no sense. Just to mention a few – the best fishing is at night, not in the daytime, all these crowds and loud teaching have scared the fish away, they have already washed their nets but Peter said “…But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
In a miraculous twist of events, When they had done so (let down their nets), they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken …So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
So, all along, Jesus was trying to help Peter see that He is all he needed. This realisation makes it easy to let go of anything because we know that as long as we have the Lord we have all things. God’s miracles and blessings are not for accumulation of materials, instead they are proof that giving those things to us was never a problem for Him. The goal of this proof is that we might come to the point where we trust the giver rather than put our security in the gifts.
God gave you the job not so the job can define your life but so that you can know that He is able to give you any job at any time. So if this job causes you to compromise your faith, you can walk away knowing that the one who provided it is able to provide a better one. The one who allowed that brother to come into your life is able to bring a better man, so if this brother is suddenly asking for you to compromise your stand, you shouldn’t have a problem walking away; his threat to leave you should mean nothing as long as you have God.
Faith is not just to receive, faith is being able to let go!
PRAYER
Dear Lord, I have heard your words today. Please, help me to trust you enough to let go, even the things that are blessings from you. Help me to be able to release when you call for it.
