Last weekend, in a moment of worship, I uttered the following
prayer; Lord, turn my eyes to you, tune my heart with yours, centre my life on
you, teach my heart your love and fix my eyes on you! In this season of my
life, I am discovering that I have forgotten God in my day to day life -too
often, particularly in the workplace prayer is my last resort instead of my
first response. Yet He remains faithful!
Our Pastor recently preached about being loved AND led by God
using scripture from Matthew 4:18-22 and John 21: 2-7 to demonstrate that Jesus
meets us where we are at, invites us to follow him and calls us higher.
(Pastor Jason Boucher/ From moment to Movement at LifeCentre. org https://vimeo.com/199671038)
(Pastor Jason Boucher/ From moment to Movement at LifeCentre. org https://vimeo.com/199671038)
Pastor Jason vulnerably shared with us a story from his own
life to illustrate how my moment of connection with Jesus will be undeniably me; Jesus’ way of connecting with me is through His Word and my Faith – He
connects the dots of my past revelations and experiences to today’s surprises
assuring me that victory is already mine despite my circumstances.
In Sunday’s Word and Faith, I was reminded of a time in the
spring of 2011 when I studied Luke 5:1-11 as prompted by the Holy Spirit to
address my then circumstances. During that time and again this week, I was
reminded of how we are to be obedient to God’s Word even though we don’t want
to, feel like it or think it is a good idea. Yet when we are obedient we will
be blessed abundantly.
God’s simple requests of us are oftentimes stepping stones to His
greatest blessings. Although we may view these lesser events as unimportant,
the Lord sees them as a big deal. The apostle Peter is a wonderful example of a
man who took small steps to a great destiny. When Jesus asked Peter to take Him
out in his boat, the fisherman could have said no. After all, he’d put in a
full night’s work and was probably exhausted. But by taking this small step,
Peter received a front-row seat to hear the greatest teacher on earth, and he
began a life-changing adventure.
Although Jesus’ first request was fairly ordinary, His next suggestion
would challenge everything Peter knew to be logical. Heading into deep water at
midday for the purpose of catching fish was ludicrous to this fishing expert.
Sometimes God asks us to do what seems unreasonable to us or others. Just
remember that the Lord is not obligated to work within the realm of what’s
normal or logical. If Peter had refused this unusual request, he would have
missed the biggest catch of his life—and I don’t mean the fish.
This miracle opened Peter’s eyes to catch sight of his Messiah. When he
got out of that boat, the fish meant nothing to him because Jesus became his
everything. The Lord isn’t waiting for us to do some big, impressive task for
Him; He’s simply calling us to obey Him one small step at a time. Don’t
miss the great adventure God has for you. Even when His ways seem unreasonable,
follow Him faithfully, and your destiny will unfold before your eyes. (Small
Steps to a Great Destiny/ Luke 5:1-11/excerpt from the Word for You Today
Devotional/May 2011)
In another miraculous catch of fish, Jesus continues to lead
us – He gets Peter to do things he already knows how to do only a little
differently. All night they fished. Cast and pull. Nothing. Then, as day was
breaking, the disciples heard “Cast your net on the right side of the boat and
you will find some.” (John 21:1-14). This passage in its entirety reminded me of
some important principles, wait on God, when you are not sure what to do next -
do the next thing, Jesus is in complete control, Jesus is always graciously
leading and serving us - even when we cannot see it.
This Sunday, I received fresh revelation as to my own
response to Jesus’ “Follow me” particularly regarding employment. Rather than
yes or no I have been responding Yes, but I will do it on my own terms. Since
2013, I have been choosing to be loved yet not fully led by God because I was
not fully surrendering to Him (cease resistance and submit to God’s authority).
I chose employment based on stature, location, and salary instead of how God could
use me to make an impact for His Kingdom!
Too often, when I blow it, I am most tempted to go to what I
know – my safety net instead of pressing on recognizing that I am tethered to
God’s love and leading.
“It is
when you push against the rock that you become strong – whether the rock moves
or not. It is when you obey and cast your net on the other side that the net is
filled, and a way is opened up for deeper fellowship with Jesus” – Rodney J.
Buchanan
Is God undeniably reaching out to you? I encourage you to go
deeper and cast your nets trusting Him to provide. Seek Him first and watch
what happens.
Create a great day and live an even greater life in Him!
May you be richly blessed, highly favored and deeply loved!
His humble servant, Your sister in Christ!
Chantale
