Sometimes we can think that things NEED to be this certain way or that they SHOULD be that certain way. And yet, they aren’t. Sometimes all the things that would make logical sense to US are not how things play out at all.
This is a dynamic that I think a lot of us probably struggle with in the smallest details of our day to day life as well as with some of those more important events and situations that have significant impact to many areas of our lives.
This morning as I was reading in Luke chapters 5 and chapters 6 this concept continued to jump out at me all throughout the text. If you aren’t familiar it’s in these two chapters where Jesus recruits some of His first disciples.
The first example we see is Jesus telling Peter to cast his fishing nets out into the deeper part of the water. Peter and his guys had been fishing all night long in the areas of the water where fish were suppossed to be, in the more shallow areas. So when Jesus told them to cast their nets again, and this time to throw them out in a deeper part of the water, they just did it because Jesus told them to.
I can see a couple of thoughts running through their minds here. One, they had been fishing all night long and in their experience, they were not catching anything so I could imagine they were thinking… alright, I will do this because He said to but it is not going to matter, we didn’t catch anything all night long!
Second, Jesus told them to throw their nets into the deeper part of the water. Now, that was not normal practice for fishing there. I could imagine them thinking, I have been fishing for years now and I know, this is not how it’s supposed to be done. But, I will do it because He said to but it‘s not going to matter. This is not how things are supposed to work, this is not normal process.
It did not make sense for Peter and his crew to even waste their time throwing the nets back out, the fish were not out. And it sure did not make sense for them to cast their nets in the deep water where it was not normal for them to be catching fish anyway. So many things here did not make sense to these guys.
They just did what Jesus said to do because He said to do it.
As we read the rest of the story, we see that their nets were overflowing with fish!! So much that their nets were about to break because of the abundance!
The words used in the NLT version of the scripture describes Peter and his friends as awestruck and amazed!
These were seasoned fishermen that knew all there was to know about fishing. They knew where to fish, when to fish, all the stuff about fishing, these men knew.
None of the things that Jesus told them to do made sense to them but they did them just because He told them to.
I think that so often we know what is normal process, we know that if we do this, the result should be that. It is so easy for us to be so driven and focused on trying to live life the way that we have always done it. The way our family taught us. They way we see it playing out in the rest of society. Doing all the things that are regular and just the thing that is supposed to get us to the next mark; whatever that is.
It doesn’t even necessarily have to be a big goal it could be the normal day to day things. And we just keep doing the same thing over and over because we know that is supposed to be what is the next right step. Sometimes those things that make logical sense to us work and we do catch the fish. That probably happens most of the time for most of us. But sometimes we can do all the things and still not a fish one!
Do we ever hear those little heart whispers urging us to do something different?
Do we ever have an opportunity presented to us that is so unusual and out of our norm that we pass it by because well, that just isn’t us or that isn’t something that we would normally do, or that doesn’t really make sense in this situation but yet here it is in front of us?
What if we started listening to some of those heart whispers?
What if we decided to take a chance on ourselves?
What if we decided to give that dream that’s been inside of us for so very long a true shot?
What if we did the things we wanted to do but were afraid to do simply because we didn’t quite have the confidence … what if we did them anyway?
What if we did the things we wanted to do that were not really a responsibility and may not contribute to our income… but were for enjoyment only … what if we finally understood that we do deserve to make space for things we enjoy simply because we enjoy them and that is part of being a well rounded and happy human?
What if we started taking some of those opportunities that are in front of us?
What if those are ways Jesus tries to speak to us?
What if those are ways Jesus could change our lives?
And don’t get me wrong, when I say change our lives, I am not in anyway restricting that to a monetary change… even more than a monetary change.. what if you had a new spark of joy and a happiness in your life simply because you decided to take up a hobby that was truly enjoyable to you?
I don‘t think we realize sometimes how important it really can be to our overall wellbeing when we decide to carve out space for something we enjoy.
First, we are showing ourself that we are important to us and that we matter. Because we do! And no, I am NOT going off on some new age bologna!
I am talking about our worth in Christ. Because we are God’s child. Because we are so important to Him that He let His Son die for us! That means we have tremendous worth!
So yes, I believe firmly that He wants us to be happy and healthy and He wants us to love ourselves and He wants us to carve out time for ourselves. We have to be important to ourselves and we need to act accordingly!
For some of you, I already know what you’re thinking… slow your judgmental roll, and do not take what I am saying out of context. LOL . I am not talking about being a self centered narcissist. LOL.. It’s all about a healthy balance and understanding of WHO is filling our cup!! I know it AIN‘T me … Jesus fills my cup!!
This has been a hard concept for me to wrap my mind and heart around, to be honest. So many experiences in our lives, so many traumas, the BIG T ones and the little t ones, can have a huge impact and shape this understanding in such a negative light. Tradition passed down or twisted concepts of what it means to be a healthy human can also misshape this concept for so many of us.
If that is you…
YOU ARE WORTHY!!
YOU ARE SEEN!!
YOU ARE LOVED!!
YOU MATTER!!
Do the work to allow yourself to be important to you… because you are important to THE ONE that matters the MOST!!
Let’s not be afraid to do something different.
Let’s not be completely closed off to taking a different path than the one that always makes sense.
We can still take time to consider the decisions, we can take time to think about the pros and cons and weigh out the risks, most importantly pray about them and see where God gives you peace.
But let’s be open at least.
As we saw with Peter… doing the things that did not make sense… they mattered!
We may see that we receive an overflow of fish in our nets.
We may find a happiness that has impacts throughout our entire life.
We may see Jesus shining like a bright beautiful light … just bursting through the middle or our ordinary lives!
Much Love ♥️
Michelle