The God of miracles - never out of options!

    I felt led to write about the God of miracles this second month of the year. The thing is, there are so many miracles in the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments, not to mention those we experience today, that it has been difficult to choose out one or the other. Yet, this week, the miracle of the great catch of fish which Simon Peter and a few other disciples caught seemed to get my attention.
    In Luke 5:1-11, we meet Simon Peter, James and John. They are in the water washing their fishing nets with their boats nearby. Jesus is addressing the crowd and chooses Simon Peter’s boat to sit in while doing so. When He is finished speaking, He instructs Simon Peter to sail out into deep waters and to let down his net. Simon Peter reveals that they had tried all night to catch fish but were unsuccessful. However, he agreed to do it because Jesus had asked him to. They were astonished at the results. The catch of fish was so big that their nets began to break. When they asked their friends in another boat for help and the fish loaded into both boats, the two boats began to sink under the weight of the number of fish.
    A few things come to mind with this story. One, when Simon Peter and his companions first tried, they failed. They were out all night but could catch not even one fish. The effort is admirable, after all this is the way they made their living and clearly they worked hard. But once Jesus came into the picture, things changed. Their first effort was on their own strength, based on what they knew to do as experienced fishermen. However, when God came into the picture, He was able to do what they could not. Sometimes, we just have to let go of our ability, of our effort - admirable as it may be - and let God take the reins. I think sometimes God just allows us to try and fail so that we can clearly see that He is able to do what we can’t.
    Second, Simon Peter made an interesting statement before letting down the nets again. He said: “…but because You say so, I will let down the nets” (v.5). He first acknowledged their inability to get the job done then he agreed to obey simply because Jesus asked him to do it. I think sometimes, it’s about being willing to obey the simple instruction God gives us. Maybe sometimes we miss our blessing because we don’t want to trust God enough to obey what He asks us to do. His instruction doesn’t make sense, we may have even tried already and failed multiple times so we are not motivated to try one more time. But sometimes all it probably takes is a simple act of obedience whether or not it makes sense to us. And sometimes it may mean trying one more time when we are exhausted from trying and failing. But remember, we may have tried and failed in our strength and ability, now it may be time to try again but in God’s strength and ability. 
    This brings me to my third point: when we are all out of options, God always has one more option to try. In our eyes, giving up may seem to be the last and only option we have, but with God in it, there is always one more option, one more solution. I don’t believe God is ever out of options. He is able to see way beyond our scope of vision and is actually quite able to create solutions as needed. Yes, God still has the final say, not the problem, but God. 
    So be encouraged. God still has the final say. Simon Peter was faced with the reality of their failure to catch fish the night before, but Jesus had another outcome planned. Once Simon Peter chose to obey Jesus’ simple instruction, he was not disappointed and neither will you be. We can’t always dictate how things will turn out and we certainly can’t always trust our failed experiences. But, when God steps into the picture, anything is possible, even the outcome that we least expected. After all, God is still the God of miracles!
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. You can never go wrong serving a God who is able to reverse any negative situation. God just wants the best for us but He also wants us to trust Him and when we do, we will not be disappointed.
    

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