Overwhelmed by Obedience
by Stephanie LaCasse
“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 (NIV)
Have you ever felt God
pulling at your heart? Have you felt Him telling you to turn the car around, or
to go back and talk to that person He wants you to talk to? Have you ever said no to that pull? It usually goes like
this for me:
Stephanie, I need you to give your neighbor the new Bible you
just got for Christmas.
But God…she won’t read it anyway. It’ll just sit there.
Stephanie, my beloved, your job is to obey. What happens after you obey is not your concern
but mine…
I know many of you
have children and have experienced their negotiating. “But Mom… I don’t need to
shower. But Mom… I’ll only play for a little bit, and then I’ll get off the
computer… But Mom… I promise that this time, it’ll be different!” Oh, how often
we do this with God, as well. He asks us to be His children and obey…and instead
we try to negotiate with him?! But He
gently and lovingly reminds us to obey.
And so it was with
Simon Peter. He explains, “Master, we’ve
worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything.” But! Then Peter states that
he will obey simply because Jesus told him to do so. Suddenly, the fishermen’s empty
nets became so heavy with fish that their nets were breaking! Oh, the abundance
of reward when Simon Peter chose to just be obedient! [1]
We all have a million
excuses for not doing as the Lord asks. There are distractions today that they
didn’t have to deal with in Jesus’ day, but excuses have been around since Adam
and Eve. Jesus doesn’t want our excuses; He wants our obedience. This is easy
to forget.
Next time you hear God
tugging on your heart…don’t negotiate or explain. Just say, Yes,
Lord.
And then watch what
God does.
GOING DEEPER:
1. Do you feel God
tugging at your heart? Do you need to respond in obedience?
2. In obedience, what
is something you can do to lovingly encourage a brother or sister in Christ?
FURTHER READING:
Stephanie
is a mom of three young sons and wife to Dave, who is currently in seminary
preparing for chaplaincy in the US Army. In her spare time, she’s employed at a
law firm.
[1] Luke 5:5-7
