But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” Luke 5:5
If you ask someone who believes in God whether doing things God’s way will lead to a better life, they will likely say yes. Even the ladies we teach in the jail know this. Most of us understand, intellectually and from experience, that when we do things our own way, we tend to get ourselves into trouble. God’s way is always best.
Why then do we so often insist on doing things our own way? Let’s look at a few Bible examples for some insight.
Abram and Sarai came up with their own plan for Abram to have a son through the servant woman, Hagar. Not surprisingly, this plan caused a lot of trouble. Why didn’t they just wait and see how God was going to fulfill His promise from Genesis 15:4? Well, they were already very old; I’m talking well past retirement age. They struck out on their own because God’s promise seemed impossible any other way. Sometimes we simply can’t imagine how God is going to take care of things. We know He can. But since we don’t understand how, we start tinkering and trying to control and we forget to let God be God.
In 1 Samuel 13, King Saul was waiting for Samuel to come and offer a sacrifice before they went into battle. The enemy was on their doorstep, yet the king waited for seven days because that’s when Samuel had said he would be there. When he didn’t show up on time, Saul “felt compelled” to offer the sacrifice himself (v.12). He didn’t want to go into battle without worshiping God first. His motive was good. But God took the kingdom away from him for doing this because, as Samuel would say two chapters later, “to obey is better than sacrifice,” (1 Samuel 15:22). Sometimes we get impatient and we rationalize disobedience to God. Friends, sometimes God is waiting for us to act, but He is never waiting for us to do something that contradicts His word. When we’ve done all we can rightly do, we have to keep waiting on God.
The Syrian commander, Naaman, was a Gentile and a leper. His Israelite servant girl recommended he go to Israel to be healed by the prophet. He was willing to try anything, but when Elisha didn’t even come out to meet him personally, and furthermore told him to dip in the dirty Jordan River seven times, he went away insulted and outraged. This reaction certainly did not cure his leprosy. When he calmed down and was willing to see reason, he did things exactly as God’s prophet had said and was immediately cured. He almost missed out on healing because of pride.
There are so many hurts we could avoid simply by doing things God’s way; if only our doubt, impatience, and pride didn’t get in the way.
Very early in Jesus’s ministry, he stood in Simon Peter’s fishing boat and taught the people on the shore. “When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch,’” (Luke 5:4). The thing was, Simon and the boys had already been out fishing all night in that very lake and they had caught nothing. Simon pointed this out to Jesus, but then added some very powerful words: “Nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net,” (v.5). It didn’t make sense to try again, and it probably took some patience and humility to go to the trouble after so much failure. But Simon did things the Lord’s way, and they caught so many fish, the nets began to break and the boat began to sink.
When we do things God’s way, the results are not always so immediate or so dramatic. In fact, sometimes obedience to God brings strife because the people around us may not approve. But doing things our own way is doomed to failure.
There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Proverbs 14:12; 16:25
God’s way is the only way that leads to life.
… to be continued next week…
Dear God, when we are tempted as imperfect humans to do things according to our own thoughts and the wisdom of this sinful world, please remind us that You, as the Creator, know what is best. Thank You for showing us the perfect way of wisdom in Your Son and in Your revealed word. Guide us by Your Holy Spirit, we humbly ask in Jesus’s name, Amen.
by Christie Cole Atkins
Related Reading:
Walk Worthy 