Learning To Lean On Jesus

Our world functions on trust, and without this aspect of trust we as a society will most probably come to a stand-still. Think about it… we trust the transport system, the medical community, the food industry, the educational institutions, and so many more all of which are run and are maintained by human beings. When something goes wrong we blame it on the system, and carry on with our lives by entrusting ourselves to others. This trust is also a vital ingredient for the smooth and peaceful functioning of a family, and every other organization that involves human beings.

Trust is an important aspect for life, but the question that I would like us to ponder on is, ‘Why do we find it so easy to trust in men (though they fail us often), but find it so hard to trust in God, who is faithful and unfailing?’

The Psalmist says it so aptly in Psalm 118:8, “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.” (ESV)

Many people find it hard to trust God because they have to put their faith in an unseen God. There are others who feel they are self-made, and hence do not want to trust in a God as they do not recognize that He is Almighty, creator and sustainer of this universe and every one living on it.

As we study an incident in the life of Simon Peter, one of the disciples of Jesus, we will better understand how we too can put our trust in the Lord Jesus and experience the wondrous miracles that Simon experienced.

This incident is recorded in Luke 5:1-11. The scene is from the shores of the Sea of Gennesaret. Jesus is followed by a huge crowd that had gathered to hear His teachings. There are two empty boats on the shore because the fishermen had just gotten back and were washing their nets. These fishermen had toiled all night and had caught nothing. So you can try to imagine the mental, emotional and physical state they must have been in. Jesus gets into Simon’s boat and asks him to push it a little farther into the sea so Jesus could sit and address the crowd that had gathered there.

1. Simon gave room for Jesus

We read in Luke 5:3, “Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.” (ESV)

The first thing we note is that Simon Peter was willing and ready to let Jesus use his boat. Not sure how much Simon knew about Jesus, but he did not hesitate to allow Jesus to use his boat.

There’s an important principle for us to learn from Simon. We have to invite Jesus, and be willing to let Him take over. Firstly, Jesus must be invited to be the Lord and Savior of our lives. Secondly, we must also give room for Jesus to be the Lord and Master of our families and of all our relationships. Nowhere do we read that Jesus forced Himself into any place or anyone’s life. Our relationship with Jesus is simply by invitation which we can either choose to accept or reject it. This is very similar to being invited to a wedding. The invite is given, but to go or not to go is the choice of the individual.

Remember the time when Jesus healed the demoniac, and when the herd of pigs ran into the lake and died, the entire village begged Jesus to leave their town. We read in Luke 8:37 that when the all the people of the surrounding region begged Jesus to leave, He did so without any hesitation whatsoever. However, when Zacchaeus accepted Jesus’ invitation to come to his home, Jesus went readily. The result was that Zacchaeus’ life got saved and his life was transformed.

2. Simon obeyed implicitly

We read in Luke 5:4-5, And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” (ESV)

Simon Peter was a seasoned fisherman, and his logical mind told him that catching fish at that time of the day would be an impossibility. Moreover, Peter had toiled all night, and must have been totally exhausted. They had even washed their nets to put them away. Isn’t it amazing that Peter set aside all of his reasons to disobey and agreed to let down his nets only because Jesus said so?

In this journey of trusting God, it is so important that we obey God, and His word totally. Sometimes, we may not feel like obeying, or there may be logical reasons why we shouldn’t or at other times the voices around us are contradicting God’s word. Psalm 128:1 reminds us “Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in obedience to him.”(NIV) It is simply not enough if we just listen to God’s word, but we are blessed only when we obey without questioning.