Obedience

Luke 8:19-25


19 Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. 20 And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.”

21 But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

22 Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. 23 But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. 24 And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!”

Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 But He said to them, “Where is your faith?”

And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”

Peter was a professional fisherman. He knew how to gauge weather conditions, where to cast nets for the likeliest haul, and when to end an unproductive session. Because of his expertise, he may have silently questioned Jesus’ instructions, which we read about in yesterday’s devotion—Peter may have thought, Why let down the nets when we’ve caught nothing all night?

Sometimes Jesus asks us to do something that seems unreasonable. It might involve leaving a job or ministry, taking on more responsibility when life already feels overloaded, or accepting an assignment that seems better suited for someone with a different skill set. Yet, because of the One who asks, it’s the right thing to do.

Scripture talks about many people who faced such a choice. Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22:2). Noah was told to build an ark on dry land because a flood was coming (Genesis 6:14). Joshua was given a military strategy of marching around Jericho instead of attacking it (Joshua 6:2-5). Gideon, who was young and unsure, was told to send most of his warriors home before battle (Judg. 7:2-3). They all obeyed and then experienced God’s power.

Don’t let human logic dictate whether you follow the Lord. Trust in Him as Peter and these other faithful believers did.

 

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