There is More: When the World Says You Can’t, God Says You Can. Brian Houston

It’s in Luke 5, when Jesus gives His disciples a lesson in exactly this way of thinking. Simon Peter and the others had recently hauled in their fishing gear after a disappointing night. Likely, they had just cleaned their nets—no small task—and reordered their boat, hoping that tomorrow their luck would change, when Jesus spoke to them. He said, “Put out into the deep [water], and lower your nets for a haul” (verse 4, AMPC). Who doesn’t like a haul?

      But Peter’s response to Jesus is exactly what so many of us would say, and it’s shrouded with doubts and excuses: “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything” (verse 5, NIV11). What he was really saying was “But Jesus, I don’t feel like doing it. I really don’t want to do it.” Despite Peter’s human response, he shows his love and devotion to Christ by saying, “But because you say so, I will let down the nets” (verse 5, NIV11).

      The Bible goes on to tell us, “When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink” (verses 6–7, NIV11).

      Relax—their boat didn’t sink! It was simply weighed down by blessings. Their portion was the abundant, overflowing, more-than-enough blessings that only God Himself could bring.

      Even in deep waters your obedience matters. Actually, especially in deep waters your obedience matters. It’s in these moments, when we’re fragile and in danger of making poor choices, that we are most susceptible to the Enemy. Even when you don’t feel like it, when it doesn’t make sense, when it’s inconvenient and frustrating listening to Jesus, trusting His voice and obeying His commands will always exceed your expectations.

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       Gifted and Graced

      Three hundred sextillion. Now, that’s a big number! Three hundred sextillion—that’s how many stars are estimated to be in our universe. Three hundred sextillion burning little lights, suspended in space and twinkling night in and night out, created by God for our viewing pleasure. Wow! And not only did God create every single star, He also named them all!

      He determines the number of the stars

      and calls them each by name. (Psalm 147:4, NIV11)

      Discovering more of who Jesus is means discovering more of the Father. The Trinitarian God we serve has relationship with us through God the Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And the Bible gives us lots of insight into the character and nature of each of them and how they work and relate alongside us. When it comes to you and your unique gifts and the grace upon your life to outwork the plans and purposes He has for you, nothing gets past the Father.