Putting in the Work

Content library Putting in the Work
Share
Share

Southeast Christian Church

Jun 6, 2023

Luke 5 is towards the beginning of Jesus’s ministry. It’s before Jesus has even called all the disciples to be his disciples. In fact, he's yet to call Peter to be a disciple and this chapter shows one of Jesus’s earliest interactions with Peter. Peter, still called Simon at this point, in Luke and his crew have pulled their two boats onto the shore of the Sea Galilee after they had been fishing all night long without catching anything. Verse three tells us that Jesus doesn't seem to ask permission, but he just gets into one of the boats and he tells Peter to take him out to the water. Jesus proceeds to teach from the water, and verse four tells us that when he finished speaking, he tells Peter to go out into the water where it's deeper and let down the nets to catch some fish.

We're not sure of the tone that he used, but Peter lets Jesus know that they have worked hard all night long, it hasn't worked, and he has nothing to show for it. Some of you are in a place right now where you have worked hard, you've tried to turn things around, you've done the best you, you've tried to be more consistent with what you say and do, but it's not getting better. You are exhausted because you've put in long hours and have made a real effort day after day, week after week, but years have come and gone, and it just seems like things are worse than ever. Most of us know the frustration and the anxiety of that. You know what it's like when you've tried, but there's these things that are out of your control. Jesus invites us to come beside him and simply trust that things can be different if you only have his presence.

Reflection/Discussion Question: What would your reaction have been to Jesus's request if you had been in Peter's position?

Community tags

This content has 0 tags that match your profile.

Lifestyle

Comments

To leave a comment, login or sign up.

Related Content

0

Our Confidence is in God

Why is it that God can bring us out of the desert time and time again, but we still distrust who he is and forget what he has done? This is why God commanded the Israelites to take 12 stones from the middle of the Jordan River to build an altar as a reminder of who God is and what he did for them. God didn’t ask the men to take twelve stones that were easy to grab on the edge of the river, he told them to grab twelve stones from the middle of the once raging river. He did this as a reminder that God isn’t just a deliverer, but an encourager. God doesn’t just bring us out of our struggles and hardships, he gives us courage in the midst of them. God doesn’t just wait for us to find our way out of the struggle, he joins us there. It’s difficult to see God in the middle of our struggle, so we need our community to point him out to us. When we are discouraged, all we can see is our overwhelming circumstances. But our community sees past our circumstances to our faithful God who is always with us. If we can be the kind of community that reminds one another of who God is and what he has done, we can be conduits of God’s courage to one another in the middle of our discouragement. Reflection/Discussion Question: What “altar” can you build as a reminder of who God is and what he has done in your life?

0

Symptoms of Discouragement

In order to give courage, we first need to be able to recognize discouragement. Someone who is discouraged is someone who may be frustrated, easily irritated, annoyed, or negative. They might be set off by situations that seem trivial or insignificant, but discouragement infects all areas of our lives. Instead of reacting in grace, love, and encouragement to the discouraged, we often fire back negativity, insults, hard truth, and anger. It can be difficult to have compassion for a discouraged friend who is expressing it through frustration, but if we can diagnose it quickly, we may be able to offer a cure instead of more pain. Another symptom of discouragement is fatigue. Discouraged people are physically and emotionally exhausted. They may not be emotionally available. They may feel like the only thing they can give their energy to after a long day is to sit on the couch and stare at a screen. In this situation we often exacerbate the problem by offering “healthy living” suggestions such as working out, eating healthy, and making less lazy decisions. We misdiagnose discouragement and try to provide a worldly cure that further fuels the discouragement. In order to offer the cure that discouraged people need, we must to rely on God. If we rely on our own strength, we will retaliate with what we are receiving or fall into the trap of discouragement ourselves. In order to offer courage to those in need, we must rely on the source of courage. God offers courage that will never run out. He is the source of grace and selfless love that we need to bring to the discouraged. Reflection/Discussion Question: After reading the symptoms of discouragement, how have you treated people in your life who are discouraged?

Related Stories

0

Seeking God all the time..

I pray to God to start and end my day but often forget to seek him throughout my day unless I’m having a very difficult day. This past Sunday before I heard this message I had a moment where I didn’t know the right thing to do so I stopped I prayed and let God lead me to do his will .. and of course he showed up and guided me as he always does when I take the time to listen ..and then I came to service early to look at the book store where I purchased the very book Sunday’s message was about! God connects with me when I need it when I don’t want it and when I don’t slow down to see it he’s always next to me guiding me and places struggles before me to help me grow. This week I’ve been extremely intensional on accepting his guidance and trying to do the same for everyone I come in contact with. If I can show up for others as God does for me I hope that they can feel his grace and presence through me. That’s what I got out of this challenge anyway ❤️