Obey God Anyway

Luke 5:1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. 3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. 4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

Obey God anyway. This is a lesson for all, one of faith and the reason why we serve. Obeying God should be incentive enough. In our day to day living sometimes we consider our relationship with God as a trade off of expecting something in return.

Don’t get me wrong. God didn’t say he’s not going to bless us. BUT what if we got no more blessings? He’s already blessed us more than we deserve. Growing up chores were not done for money. I didn’t get daddy over a barrel. I should have done them better than I did. Daddy put clothes on my back. Mommy made sure I always had something to eat. The least I could have done is obey them. That’s how I should look at obeying God.

We love God because he first loved us. We serve him because he first served us. We should obey. Peter had fished all night and caught nothing. This was their living. Now they’d go home without a paycheck for the night. Imagine how they felt. I wish we’d have “Wednesday night revival” every Wednesday. We could. You’d think we’d have a church full tonight especially since we weren’t able to have church last Sunday. God is the same on Wednesday as he is on Sunday. He blesses the same. He’s good to us.

Peter is like us. In the grind of everyday life we get used to the routine. We then fail to appreciate the Lord. The fishermen were down because they had caught nothing. We don’t know what kind of fishing they had the night or week before. Sometimes fish bite; sometimes they don’t. When you hunt, sometimes you’re successful; sometimes you’re not. Sometimes what we do doesn’t seem to pay off, BUT it does. They were doing what they loved to do. Don’t look at serving the Lord as a duty to dread. Look at it as our love and heart’s desire. Never let obeying become routine.

We pray. We read the Bible. We come to church. We try to get things right. We take a stand. But we don’t feel the blessings. The windows of heaven haven’t “opened up.” Why aren’t you and I getting blessed? Maybe we are and are just taking it for granted! We have air to breathe. We’re able to put one foot in front of the other. We’re able to come to church and fellowship with each other. We are blessed! We are not being shortchanged by God.

Peter didn’t catch any fish, but his boat didn’t sink. The nets were in good shape. They had a good night together. I bet they never left home without a good meal. Yet his attitude was ‘we fished all night and caught nothing.’ He overlooked the blessings he’d already received. He did an about face and said nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. OBEY GOD ANYWAY. He decided to do what Jesus said anyway. Overabundant may not come, but there won’t be a day that God isn’t there. Never make service and obeying a conditional trade off. God has already blessed us enough. If we never get anything else, we really have enough.

God has been here. He is here. He will be here. He’ll see that we get what we need. He didn’t say he was the milkshake of life. He is the bread of life. Our basic need is bread and water. That’s what he is–the bread and water of life. The Lord supplies. He is faithful. He gives us enough. Give us this day, our daily bread. Be grateful and obey him anyway, regardless of how many fish we get or don’t get.

There is always something to be thankful for. Peter didn’t sit down after he caught the draught of fish and count them. He fell down at the knees of Jesus. Verse 8 says he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. Jesus told him Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. Now look at verse 11. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him. They left it all and followed the Lord in obedience.

Don’t keep count and tell the Lord “if….” It’s not a trade off. Don’t waste time bargaining with the Lord. Follow him and see what happens. Sure enough. Peter, James and John became fishers of men. Let down the nets and whatever happens, God is there. He’s already blessed us anyway. So obey God anyway.