Are You Sure It Is His Will?
ICS Daily Devotions
Luke 5:4-5 (NJKV) When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 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.”
Don’t you love it when we see how Jesus specifically instructs an individual or a group of people to do something? It is also wonderful to witness from Scripture how the disciples responded to the Lord’s instruction.
Jesus’ instruction, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch”, couldn’t have been more specific. Simon Peter obeyed the instruction, and he called Jesus, “Master” after he had heard His teaching at the shore. Truly, faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God. They did exactly what Jesus instructed despite having caught nothing the previous night, and it wasn’t the best time for fishing.
John 21:6 (NKJV) “And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.”
Again, in the above Scripture, Jesus provided specific and minor details when He said, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat.” Some might argue, “Why not the left side?” Some people will struggle with such simple instructions because they think God won’t bother with such minor issues in their lives, but what if the fish were found on the right side because Jesus had ordered it that way? Therefore, we should just listen and obey!
We often carry out our own agenda in life and expect God to bless it and bail us out if needed. However, our own ideas are just man’s ideas, albeit being good ideas! We expect and demand that God bless the project or business, and people are disappointed when God does not bless their plan. We must realise that God is not obliged to bless our plan when He was not even consulted about it, and we are certainly in no position to dictate God to do things for us or even bless our plans.
He is the Lord of our lives. Therefore, it’s important for us to pursue, articulate, plan and execute God’s idea and dream, and it is good to obtain God’s endorsement before we rush out to execute the idea. Not every idea is God’s idea. Therefore, it’s important to consecrate our plan, idea and dream to Him. Get a confirmation through Book, Chapter and Verse (BCV), including a witness of the Holy Spirit with godly counsel. If we are confident that it is God’s idea, we know that God will pay and bless it! However, if it is our idea without consecration, we must bear the cost ourselves! Once God has given us the idea, we own the idea, and know what the final product will look like. We are impregnated with it. We will not have a firm footing to do whatever we want to do unless it is the Lord’s instruction or part of His will.
Sermon Series：Consecration
