My, Devotion to Him #305
God is boundless in His capability to teach more and more from the same source material. From the Bible, we continuously learn new things, hearing old words with new revelations, meanings, and insight into Him and what He has in store for us. Over and over, you’ve listened to some of the same passages spoken in church. When I was younger, I never understood why. Gradually I began to grasp that something was transpiring, but how? Can the same verse have more than one message? More than one directive? Is there more than one set of truths within it? Through the years, that answer has repeatedly been… Yes!
Verse Passage: Luke 5:4-11 “And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.” – ESV
This passage has been covered repeatedly by preachers I’ve known. I’ve done the same. Still, there is a feeling, a draw for me to look back over it and either repeat something or release something I’ve not yet done.
The real test of someone’s faith comes when nothing else has worked, or you could say when there is no other choice but to have faith. It is at these moments in time that we find out the boundaries of our faith. There is no actual limit to be reached with faith but merely the limit we have placed on our own. There is no real limit to one’s faith because God has no limits on what He can do since He is the creator of all. His Word is absolute, indisputable, and limitless. The authority He commands formed and placed the universe so the ceiling of faith will never be reached, which should be relief and joy to us.
At these moments when there seems to be no other choice, there is a fork in the road. We could easily give in to the doubts and place restrictions on our faith because we’ve created this thought that all good things will only happen to us as Christians, and there will never ever be anything terrible we will have to go through. Many think the faith they have is all they will ever need and never give in to the notion that there may be a time when God is trying to get us to reach past our self-imposed limitations and expand further into the deep.
The other option on this road is to be like Peter and say, “because you say so, I will” There is always more down this road when we choose to walk it. Within this passage, three things can be discovered.
- God uses the common to do the uncommon.
One of the most unique and fascinating things about God is how He constantly uses the common throughout the Bible to perform something so extraordinary. People and places that are just as normal as your neighbor and town were used in mighty ways throughout our history. Over and over, God selects to use the common. Yes, there are times when more notable people in earthly perception were used, but God has the heart to use the common. In this instance, Jesus performed a miracle while at someone’s workplace.
Think about that for a minute. The workplace is mundane, with routine occurrences, procedures, people, and everything in between. But Jesus showed up and changed the lives of those people. These people instantly left everything and followed Him. When you find good, you wanna keep it, right? That’s what they did. Just like the first time you experience Christ, there is nothing like it. This creates a desire to want more. Sometimes I fear we are looking for God in the right places at the wrong time. We’re looking only on Sundays in the church, through a podcast, ministries that post messages like this, tv pastors, spiritual books, and conferences. A lot of the time, we can feel Him. Our spirit man can grab much-needed food from these. However, they are not mundane. They are not the daily routine and do not make up most of our week.
Look for God within the mundane task and throughout the day in general. You’ll find Him more than you could’ve imagined. He’s constantly wanting to interact and speak with you. It’s only sometimes audible, and that is what trips many up. Seek Him out in routine, and you’ll be surprised that He is there waiting for you.
2. God wants to move you out from the shallow into the deep.
The shallows are the safest places within Christianity. New believers are placed within this haven. Sometimes you can feel the waves beating against you, but in general, there’s little risk, and the safety of the surrounding is more than enough to fight back against these waves. This doesn’t intend to establish that new believers have it easier. They should be protected and cared for much more because of their newness. However, we find that more considerable treasure is usually beyond the shallows. When sailing past this boundary, we must note that bigger rewards always come with more significant risks. The deep is much more challenging for you than the shallow waters, where you can stand and run to shore as needed. Though the deep is different than what you’ve experienced before. In order to find and seize treasures of greater reward, something always tends to follow. Bigger storms. In the deep, the waves crash harder, the waters less unforgiving, but what can be found is simply priceless. The devil will always try to prevent you from going beyond the shallow waters. You are and will forever be an enemy of His. However, if he can keep you from going beyond then, he can limit how dangerous you can become. How much closer you can get to the King, how much deeper your relationship can go, and foster much more boldness and willingness to proclaim the promises of the Lord and unleash the authority that has been given.
God has so much to share with you, give and show once you grow in your walk with Him and eventually seek out deep waters. Treasures that can only be found when one takes the risk to go further.
3. God involves you with one thing to teach you another.
Jesus involved these men with their everyday work and performed a fantastic miracle, but He did not stop there and say His goodbyes. No, this was to demonstrate what would happen if they took the same principle of listening to His word and used it in another line of work; like fishing for men. He would show that the results will be overwhelming when we follow Christ and listen to His command. There will be more than we can handle on our own, and we will have to involve others to help, but even then, the harvest will still be abundant. Sometimes you are doing something and maybe years later have to recall what you used to do or what you have done in the past to perform at a new job. Don’t think there isn’t anything in your life that could be applied to soul-winning!
Plans created for you, a purpose you’ve been called to. The only thing that remains is you, a decision to say, “Because You say so, I will.”
God bless.
Copyright © 2022 by Jacob Olinger
Spirit Warrior Ministry 