Stop Complaining; Just Trust and Obey.

_(Thursday 5^th September 2019. Read Colossians 1:9-14, Psalm 52 and Luke 5:1-11)_

_“Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word, I will let down the nets.” *(Luke 5:5)*_

Jesus gave Peter a very simple instruction: “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” But instead of Peter to simply obey, he started doing that which we are often accustomed to; complaining. Peter started giving reasons why the instruction should be disobeyed. “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!” meaning: “there is no guarantee that I would catch anything.”

Like Peter, we always tend to have excuses for not obeying God’s commandments. Just as it didn’t make sense to Peter to let down the nets at that time of the day, there are times too that obeying God’s commandments may appear senseless. But it is precisely at such moments that we get our miracles. Take a moment to ponder and reflect. Think back at those times you went against God’s instructions. Now, place yourself in the shoes of Peter and imagine what would have happened if you had actually obeyed God and done what was right.

Once upon a time, a policeman jumped into a vehicle during a stop and search operation. When he didn’t find anything incriminating, he insisted that the driver must give him N10,000 for not greeting. The driver pleaded and pleaded but the Policeman insisted. With tears, the driver parted with the money and drove off. A few minutes later, a phone rang inside the car; the Policeman’s phone slipped from his pocket unknowingly while he sat inside the car. The policeman lost his phone of over N95,000 in an attempt to obtain N10,000 illegally. Dear friends, it always pays to do what is right.

When Peter saw the great catch, it became a moment of conversion for him. There was only one explanation for what his eyes had just witnessed; God himself was the one who told him to let down his net for a catch. Immediately, Peter fell down at Jesus’ knees saying: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

An encounter with God helps us to come to terms with our nothingness. When you see a really proud person who believes he or she is knows everything, then you have met a person who is yet to encounter God. Disobedience to God is a function of our self-pride. If you really know God, you would be too afraid to disobey His Commands.

Jesus then said to him, “Do not be afraid, henceforth you will be catching men.” Having encountered God, we are not supposed to keep it to ourselves. God allows certain things to happen to us so that our eyes can be open to Him. Such experiences are not always meant to be kept to ourselves, they are to become the stuff from which we would open the eyes of others to God.

It is interesting to note that after the great catch of fish, Peter and his team left everything behind to follow Jesus. They were not concerned about how to sell the fish they had just caught. They followed Jesus trusting that they would never lack. They were more interested in the giver of the miracle than in the miracle itself.

Like Peter, let us repent today. Stop complaining. Stop giving excuses to God. Just trust God and obey his commands; be humble enough to believe that your personal opinions are not better than God’s instructions. As St. Paul says to the Colossians in today’s first reading, let us “lead a life worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, deepen my trust in you. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Thursday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Colossians 1:9-14, Psalm 52 and Luke 5:1-11).