DAILY DEVOTIONAL FROM PASTOR WESLEY May 5, 2022
A Small Matter of Obedience
If we obey God's commands, we never know what may come of it, so we shouldn't treat some sins as lesser than others.
Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat. When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, ``Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." Simon answered and said, ``Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets." When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break; so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus' feet, saying, ``Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!" For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, ``Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men." When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him. Luke 5:1-11
Do you consider some of God’s commands more important than others? For instance, most people would never commit murder, but many think it’s okay to harbor anger towards someone. Yet Jesus said that both actions are wrong because they flow from the same sinful attitude (Matthew 5:21-22). Nothing the Lord tells us to do is insignificant—though we may not always recognize the importance of obedience in what we consider small matters.
Consider today’s passage about Jesus asking to use Peter’s boat as a speaking platform. After a long night of unproductive fishing, the future apostle could have seen the request as inconsequential and hardly worth the inconvenience. But he obeyed in this small matter, not realizing the impact that simple act of obedience would have on his life—it was the first step to becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ.
As God’s children, we should seek His direction in daily situations. That’s why it is so important for us fill to our mind with His Word—then we can more easily discern what He desires for us. As we stay attuned to Scripture and heed the Holy Spirit’s promptings, we’ll be able to faithfully obey Him throughout each day.
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