Written by Leena Abraham

“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.” Luke 5:5

In this chapter of Luke, we see that Simon Peter has had a weary night of fallen expectations. As a fisherman, he knows that his work involves extended hours of waiting on a potential catch that may never be seen. This night in particular, he had cast his net many times, only to be completely disappointed in the results. Yet Jesus comes and tells him to try once again – to let his net down just one more time. Simon’s reply is what makes it so obvious to us why Jesus saw something special in this man. Peter first acknowledges with honesty his tiredness, his frustration and his hopelessness in the situation.  Yet, the turning point of his response is in his final words of obedience. He says “…nevertheless, at Your word I will let down the net.” Despite his own experience of failure, he chooses to submit to Jesus’ command.  Jesus doesn’t promise him success, or even a great reward for this repeated effort. Simon’s reason for casting his net again was simply because Jesus had told him to.

We know the all too familiar pang of disappointment – to have expected something that has instead slipped through our fingers. We understand working hard, and yet despite our most dedicated efforts, to be faced only with our own failures.  Opening our calloused hands, we see only empty palms. We often hold tight to our fruitless efforts and dashed hopes as a badge of how we have been victimized, abandoned and wronged. Finally, we decide that walking away from the losing battle is better than continuing to feel the pain of disappointment again. We are all guilty of prayers that are usually too full of copious requests and long lists of grievances to have room for the final cry of “…nevertheless, I will obey”.  Focusing on a specific moment or a certain pain, we cling to the hollow belief that we deserved more and we deserved better. The unfortunate result is that paralyzed by our own fear of being disappointed again, we become spiritually stagnant.

If we finish reading this passage, we’ll see that Simon’s obedience to Jesus’ command results in an abundant catch for this poor fisherman. Soon after, Jesus promises him that there are even greater things awaiting him – that he will be a fisher of men! It is due to our spiritual nearsightedness that we often can’t see God’s plan unfolding through the lessons He teaches us; that we miss the unveiling of the providence of an all-knowing God. It is through our pain that we learn to search for comfort in Him. It is through our insufficiency that we understand completeness in Him. It is through our failures that we grow to maturity in Christ. Are we willing to miss out on the promises of our Savior because we instead chose to cling to our own shortcomings? As Simon chose to cast his net one more time, we are also called to put our hurts aside in order to be obedient to the call of our Lord. When we are ready to lift our eyes to our King and say “Yes, Lord, I was hurt and disappointed, but nevertheless, I will press on”, we will see the glory behind our own empty nets.

Drops of blood ran down his face
As he anguished in that quiet still place
The weight of His burden began to crush Him
My God, My God, why does this have to happen!!
The devil was attacking from every side
Raising doubts and fears that even he couldn’t hide
All alone in the garden that night
Not a friend or loved one was within sight
He cried from the very depths of His soul
That the God of Heaven would make Him bold
Bold to do the task for which He was called
Bold to bear the sin of All
All God and All man crying out in that garden
Preparing himself to purchase our pardon
Why is He subject to this?
Why must he be betrayed with a kiss
A liar, a thief, a murderer He was not
But you and I we must be bought
Bought with a price more precious than gold
The blood of the lamb that will never grow old
So on he marched into the quite still night
Prepared for battle and ready to fight
Fight with the forces of darkness and hell
Even thought it is you and I who have fell
Prepared to fight even unto the death
Prepared to give every last breath
That you and I may reign with Him one day
So He cried Father let your will be done come what may!!!

By Dennis and Elizabeth Mathew

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” James 1:2-4

A quick search through a Merriam Webster dictionary produced the following results when I looked up the word Trial.

a test of faith, patience, or stamina through subjection to suffering or temptation; broadly : a source of vexation or annoyance

a tryout or experiment to test quality, value, or usefulness

When I think of trials, I often think of terrible things that happen in a person’s life.  I think about people who survive near death situations, deaths in the family, sickness, and bankruptcy.  These are all terrible situations and should certainly fall into the category of a trial as they are more than vexations or annoyances and would be better classified as sufferings causing a level of physical and emotional distress.  Looking at the verse above and making it personal can sometimes be difficult if your perception of a trial is solely defined as an extreme circumstance.  Extreme circumstances may not happen often in your life.   In fact, you could be well along your path of living and feel that you haven’t faced such a circumstance.  When reading this verse, you may struggle to make it personal if you feel that you haven’t faced a trial.

I believe this is a serious trick of the enemy.  It’s easy to be so distracted in this life that when situations come up which test both one’s faith and patience; we fail to recognize it for what it really is.  As a result, we don’t realize how many times we fail when facing such trials.  The verse above tells us to count it joy when we face various trials indicating that they are an opportunity for us to pass a test and improve upon successful completion.  If we don’t see the hurdle in our path, how do we jump over it?

Trials come in many forms as indicated above.  A trial may be severe temptations we face each day.  It may even come in the form of small circumstances or annoyances which pick at us in our daily routine.  How do we react when someone cuts us off in traffic?  How about when we hear someone speaking negatively or gossiping about us?  It’s easy to let emotion get the best of us or to jump to conclusions in certain situations.  These may sound like small things, but they can get in the way of our personal spiritual development.  It’s time we recognize the various tests we face daily and remember that successfully passing these tests will help build our character little by little.

As we grow, we may face more severe tests in our lives.  What’s important is not that we look at how big the trial may be, but that we remember our God is here with us to help us through each and every trial.  As you remember what He’s done for you in past circumstances, you should develop the patience to make it through your current circumstance even if you don’t know the answer or which direction you need to take.  Doing so will develop your faith as well since faith is often what is being tested.

Use trials both great and small as an opportunity to grow your character.  Recognizing the trial and being able to trust in God is a big step in personal growth.  It’s easy to try to fight it on your own or shrug it off as an unfortunate event.  Seeing past the physical realm can make all the difference as we pursue perfection and completeness in Christ.

When bad things happen, I know I don’t always think about where my faith is or whether or not I’m being patient.  I know these are things I pray for each day so they are on my mind.  Sometimes we look far ahead to an end goal without realizing there is a process we go through in order to get there.  Some of the greatest persons of faith successfully endured great trials.  One key was recognizing the trial and most importantly, recognizing the need for God in order to make it through those trials.  So let’s take an account each day of the various trials we face and remember to look to God in each of these circumstances so that the testing of our faith may produce the patience required in developing the right character.

Article written by Freddy Mathew. Freddy is a member of the Fusion leadership team and drama team. You can reach him at fred@fusion316.org.