“As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He noticed two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.”
MATTHEW 4:18 AMP
How tentative are we to follow Christs’ instructions to do something different than our normal routine prescribes? Most of us find comfort in routine. Routines are safe, they may not produce the best results, but we find comfort in the process.
Simon was a fisherman, and knew the patterns of fishing, so when Christ told him to take his boat out into the water in the night skies and drop his nets, he was skeptical. Fishing at night was not his norm. His prior experiences caused him to pause when Christ instructed him against fishing as he normally did. Most of us feel discomfort when instructed to row out into the reverse known ebb and flow practices. There are times when we feel we are fishing in the darkness of night, not certain which direction to take. Are we any different than Simon, skeptical of altering how we function? The answer is yes and no.Yes, if it a planned, or a recommended detour, no if we are told to walk with Christ into the dark of night and drop our nets. Simon probably took a moment before he decided to trust Christ. We are no different and have to trust in the Lord, (kind of blind faith), knowing that He is teaching us to walk the same path as Him.
“entrust yourself to Him; Do not fret (whine, agonize).”
PSALM 37:7 AMP
I used the term blind faith, as a metaphor. When we are in the darkness of night, our sight is limited. We can no longer see into the distance, all that we see is what lies directly before us. We become myopic and can not see the big picture. It is during the night that our gait is reduced and we look down more than up to make certain we do not trip or fall. We are skeptical of what is around us, and our current pattern is disrupted. The disruption causes us to pause and question new instructions, asking ourselves why, how is this going to affect me, what will I get out of this change?
Change is inevitable once you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior. Part of having faith is being dependent upon our Father, accepting that His ways are not our ways. We should at minimal have the same faith in Christ that He like our parents will protect us, guide us, and lead us in the right direction. Our faith in Christ allows us to row out into the darkness of life and throw out our net.
“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, this is the way; walk in it.”
Isaiah 30:21 NIV
We must learn to follow Simon’s leads and listen to God’s voice and obey when He instructs us to walk in the way He commands.
“Let your eyes look directly ahead, and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.”
Proverbs 4:25
If we listen to Jesus’ instructions, instead of questioning them, it will not matter if it is night or day. It will not matter if the directions seem convoluted and misdirected according to our understanding. God is our Master and Teacher and His path and trajectory is not the same as ours. He is looking at (our) eternity, we look at what is before us and no further.
And He said, “ Follow Me [as My disciples, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk], and I will make you fishers of men.”
MATTHEW 4:19 AMP
We are all ministers and thus fishers of men. Wherever we go, whatever we do or say, there are onlookers observing how we act and how we respond in all situations. We cast our net into the water every day, we are just not aware of it. The prerequisites are: giving our life to Christ, not fearing His instructions and standing fast on the Word of God. Do you want to become a night fisherman like Simon?
responsibility to resist the enemy in the time of evil. (Eph 6:13)
Paul described the armor as Roman military uniforms. The importance of wearing the armor is still applicable today. The war is raging, and we need to dress in the appropriate attire to protect ourselves, stand, and fight in God’s army.
Each morning when we take out our outfit for the day, we must also take out our armor. Paul commands us to:
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
principality war and we must take God’s commands to heart and use his principles and weapons to secure our ability to control our own thinking.
Our humanistic conversation sounds something like this: He/She harmed me, how can I forgive them? I hate them. God’s response is, I forgave the people that crucified my innocent son, there is nothing worse than that. If I can forgive them, you can forgive those that caused you personal harm as well. Don’t let the hate become a badge of victimization, an albatross around your neck. Capture it once and 
for all and put it in cryosleep. Is this easy? No. But God commanded and our answer should be ‘Yes Lord. I forgive those that have done me harm and am no longer bound by the hurt.’
Lisa’s Daily Inspirations 