Encouragement from the Master
How often do you get discouraged because you feel like a failure? Everything you attempt seems to backfire or fizzle out and die? You try so hard and yet you come up feeling dry? You begin to wonder if GOD really cares anymore? You begin to feel as though you are out there all alone? Maybe you are at that place right now where you have thrown your hands up in the air and just quit?
I’m reminded of a time when the disciples had gotten to that point in their lives. Luke relates it this way: “He (Jesus) got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the land. Then He sat down and was teaching the crowds from the boat. When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ ‘Master,’ Simon replied, ‘we’ve worked hard all night long and caught nothing! But at Your word, I’ll let down the nets.’ When they did this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets began to tear” (Luke 5:3-6 CSB).
Life had gotten a little rough for the disciples. Jesus comes on the scene gets into their boat and preaches to the crowd. Knowing full well they had been at it all night and caught nothing, He tells them to drop their nets and catch some fish. Simon Peter, overwhelmed by the stress from the night before, tells Jesus what He already knows. But, Jesus, in an attempt to teach them a lesson in faith and trust tells them to lower their nets back down; which they did. To their surprise, the catch was so immense they had trouble bringing them all in.
Maybe you are at that place where you have dropped the nets for the last time. You have tried time and again and always seem to come up dry. You have thrown your hands in the air and given up or you are on the verge of doing so. Jesus is calling you to trust Him today. He is holding out His hand to give you a lift. He is calling you to have faith in His ability to create in you the individual He has called you to be.
Your failures are not really failures; they are simply set-backs that help to grow your faith stronger. They are times for you to step-back momentarily and learn a new lesson in faith—to learn to trust in Jesus and His timing and His abilities. It is time to understand that “with GOD all things are possible!” (Matthew 19:26 CSB). It is time to claim the promise that “greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
If you are facing troubling times right now; you find yourself in a place where you feel everything you attempt seems to end in failure, it is time to seek encouragement from the Master. Don’t be overwhelmed or overcome; rather, look your fears and failures in the eye and claim the promises GOD has given you.
Scripture Reading: “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation He will provide for you today” (Exodus 14:13 CSB).
Prayer: Father, today I feel stretched to my limits. I feel as though everything I try ends in failure. I am at that place of just giving up. But, I know that is not Your desire for me. I know You desire to stretch my faith and to encourage my trust in You. Help me to hang strong, to hold onto Your promises knowing that You will deliver me and bring me through this difficult time—victorious. I place my trust in You today. In Jesus’ name—AMEN!
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