Momentum For Monday, December 6th 2021

"…let down your nets and you will catch a lot of fish!” (Luke 5:4)

If there's one thing that can irritate me, it's someone telling me to do something that I've already attempted to do several times with no avail. This is the case with Peter and Jesus. In the verse following, we see the reluctance and perhaps slight frustration in Peter because Jesus is instructing him to do something he was doing all night with zero results.

What would a carpenter know about fishing anyway? Nothing. But Jesus isn't as much a carpenter as he is Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23). And we know that through God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26), which Peter was about to find out.

It turned out, Jesus knew exactly what he was doing. The nets were so full that they were ripping. They even had to call in assistance from another boat nearby to help handle how many fish there were.

Here's the thing that God has been reminding me about often, as Jesus was with Peter that day, he is with us too. But only he's not necessarily "with" us as much as he's "in" us by means of the Holy Spirit. John 14:26 says the Helper, the Holy Spirit, will teach us all things and bring to remembrance what God has said to us.

If the Holy Spirit will teach all things, then take it literally. He can teach us things we know nothing about or teach us better (in Peter's case, deeper) about things we know everything about. I'll even go as far as asking God to help me in my hobbies like jiu-jitsu because, well, why not?

I know it may be weird to suggest this in the age of information being at our fingertips. But learning is much more than a video or tutorial, sometimes it takes abilities beyond our intellect and emotions. This is why God is ultimately worthy of being trusted in leading every area of our lives.

As a Christ follower, we are not natural humans but super-natural or spiritual. And if we want to see the supernatural, then partnering with the work of the Holy Spirit in us is the only way that's going to happen. I'm not saying this is easy, but that it's possible.

This week, lean on God. Ask him to help you in all aspects of your life. From chores, hobbies, problem-solving, learning, or even in un-learning, ask for the Holy Spirit to teach you and see if this makes a difference.

"So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."

 (Romans 12:1-2)