Lord's simple requests are often steppingstones to life's most wonderful blessings. Simon Peter is a good illustration of what happens when we say yes to God. In Luke 5:1–11, people were pressing in around Jesus while He was preaching. The Lord wanted to use Peter's boat as a floating platform from which to address the crowd on shore, so He asked the future apostle to push the vessel out a little way. (v. 3) This in itself was not a particularly remarkable request, but Peter's compliance paved the way for multiple blessings. And from his example, we learn how essential it is to obey God in even the smallest matters.
Immediately, the crowd was blessed by Peter's obedience—they were now able to hear Jesus' words as He taught. Then, when the lesson was completed, the Lord said to Peter, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch" (v. 4). Here was another opportunity to say yes or no, and Peter must have felt tempted not to consent. After all, he had worked the entire night in hopes of a catch but had returned empty-handed. And now Jesus was telling him to go fishing again! But notice what happened as a result of Peter's obedience: on a day that he and his colleagues had written off as a total loss, they pulled in not one, but two overflowing boatloads of fish. (v. 7) Saying yes to the Lord's request resulted in a miracle that absolutely transformed the fisherman's life.
Obedience is critical to the successful Christian life, and there are several truths that will help you understand it from a divine perspective:
1. Obeying God in small matters is an essential step to God's greatest blessings. Suppose Peter had said, "I'm busy cleaning my nets right now. I can't help you because I'm going fishing again tonight—I just don't have the time." Or he could have said, "Why don't you ask to use that other boat over there?" or "I've already been fishing today. It would be a waste of time to go again right now." Peter could have said a number of things. If he had said anything other than yes, he would have missed the greatest fishing experience of his life. But because of Peter's obedience, the Lord arranged a miracle that he would never forget.
Oftentimes God's greatest blessings come as a result of our willingness to do something that appears to be very insignificant. So ask yourself, Has God been challenging me to do something seemingly unimportant that I have not yet made an effort to accomplish? Is there anything I have rationalized by saying, 'It's too difficult,' 'I don't want to,' or 'I have to pray about it'?
2. Our obedience is always beneficial to others. Think of how many people were blessed by Peter's obedience. Not only was the crowd able to see the Lord and hear His lesson, but Jesus Himself also benefited: preaching from the boat afforded Him the comfort of being able to sit down while he spoke. (v. 3) Then, of course, Peter's friends had a very profitable day—they took in two vessels so full of fish that both began to sink. More importantly, they had the opportunity to witness something supernatural.
God often rewards other people, in particular those closest to us, as a result of our obedience. For example, no father can be obedient to God without blessing pouring out into the lives of his wife and his children. And a child's obedience will likewise bless his or her parents.
3. Obeying God may require doing some things that appear to be unreasonable. Peter was experienced at his trade—he knew all the best fishing spots and understood the optimal times and conditions for a catch. Then Jesus, an itinerant preacher and carpenter, approached the seasoned fisherman and said, "Let's go fishing." Peter must have been thinking, He is certainly a wonderful teacher, but I'm the fisherman. We fished all night long with no success, and besides, it is now midday, the worst possible time to net anything. But to his credit, Peter chose to obey Jesus (v. 5) and as a result experienced a stunning display of divine power.
Our obedience to God should never be based on whether something seems rational or fits with the world's way of thinking. That is not to say God always bypasses common sense, but oftentimes what He requires of us may not appear reasonable or match our preconceived ideas. This is exactly what happened just before I came to Atlanta. I had always believed that to be effective in ministry, a pastor must stay in one pulpit for a long time. Yet, after only eleven months in Bartow, Florida, I began to hear God speak to me about coming to Georgia, which struck me as extremely unreasonable. I gave the Lord reason after reason why I should remain in Florida, including that my preacher friends would think I had failed in that position. God was not at all persuaded and kept pressing my heart to do as He instructed. If I had not submitted—if I had said, "No, God, it is simply not logical"—I would have missed tremendous blessings.
4. When we obey God, we will never be disappointed. Because of his experience with fishing, Peter no doubt assumed Jesus' instructions would amount to killing time, waiting for nothing to happen. But when he complied with that simple request, he was gripped with amazement at what the Lord brought about. We, like Peter, must recognize that obeying God is always the wise course of action. Jesus turned an empty boat into a full one. He can also take our emptiness—whether it is related to finance, relationship, or career—and change it into something that is splendid and thriving.
Perhaps you hesitate to obey because you are afraid of the consequences. Remember that the same sovereign, omnipotent God who keeps your heart beating and the planets orbiting is more than able to handle the circumstances of your obedience. I am not saying that to obey will necessarily result in the exact outcome you desire; in fact, an intervening trial could possibly precede a blessing. But even when our expectations do not line up with God's purposes, that in no way means His ways will be disappointing; on the contrary, however He chooses to bless our obedience will ultimately prove far more satisfying.
5. Our obedience allows God to demonstrate His power in our life. If Peter had said no, he would have missed an awesome demonstration of divine power that made his faith skyrocket and initiated the most thrilling three years imaginable. Walking with the Lord Jesus Christ every day, the disciple would witness miracles even greater than two boatloads of fish—a blind man would begin to see, dead Lazarus would be restored to life, and at Jesus' urging, Peter himself would step out of a boat, not into the water, but onto it! Why do you think he had the courage to leave his vessel and walk on the water toward Christ? The reason is that Peter started by saying yes to a small thing. Then each time God rewarded his obedience, the apostle's faith grew, to the point that he believed his Master not only controlled the fish in the water but also had absolute authority over the water itself!
6. Obeying God always results in a deeper understanding of Him and of ourselves. Prior to this incident, Peter knew Jesus as a carpenter, and he also had heard the Lord teach profound truths to the crowds. However, obeying Christ's request set the stage for Peter to get brand-new insight—the Lord's holiness and sovereign authority over nature were clearly evident through the miraculous catch. And by contrast, the fisherman clearly recognized his own sinfulness for the first time. (v. 8) When we obey God, we, too, will discover that a change takes place in our heart.
7. Obeying God can result in dramatic changes in our life. Simon Peter had in all likelihood intended to spend the rest of his life fishing. But everything changed with one simple act of obedience. He willingly laid down his net and walked into a whole new lifestyle of following the Lord Jesus Christ.
God can revolutionize our life too. For some people, this could mean a change of career, a new location, or a different relationship. Are you willing to do what God says, when and how He says to do it? Are you willing to leave all the consequences to Him? The hymn writer expressed it simply: "Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey." Let me add a truth to that: There is no such thing as happiness apart from Jesus. Without a right relationship to Christ, you will never have real contentment, peace, or assurance. Nothing else in this world can ever truly satisfy.
To become disciples who are completely surrendered to Christ, we must begin by obeying Him in every aspect of our life, however small it may seem. Remember the good servant, who heard his master say, "Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities" (Luke 19:17 NIV). Unless you say yes to a little request from the Lord, you will never know what your life could have been like—or what wonderful blessing would have been yours if only you had obeyed God. Why risk losing when you can be certain of winning?
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