Fall 2024

Daily Devotional: Thursday, July 20 - What's Important Now?

“Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.’ When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.” — Luke 5:5-6

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What’s important now? This is great question to keep at the forefront of your mind when you are going through a trying time. Have you ever played in a basketball game where you missed every shot, or so it seemed? Or played in a game that whenever you made a pass it was just a tad late? When you dribbled and it just didn’t feel right?

The disciples experienced that kind of day in Luke 5:1-11. They were professional fisherman. In verse 4, we learn that Jesus told them to keep fishing after what we might consider a “bad game” — and Simon then admitted he had just come off a “bad game.” In other words, he admitted he and his teammates had worked hard all night, but had yet to catch anything — something they were trained for and typically good at.

However, Simon had the faith to try again because Jesus was telling him to do it. If the Master tells us to practice our God-given craft, we should do it in good faith. Lo and behold, the disciples ended up catching fish. In fact, they caught more fish than they had ever caught before! It was like bouncing back from a 20-point loss with an upset victory.

Why is this important? Because it shows that obedience matters, regardless of circumstances. It shows that as a Christian, we can be optimistic. As long as we’re living in the will of God, we can be positive and have direction in our life. What’s important now is that we move forward in faith — no matter what kind of day we are having — and have confidence that Jesus is right there with us in it.

— Frick Frierson

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