Laurie Hopkins

Sometimes God asks us to do things that we can’t understand; things that absolutely don’t make sense to our natural eyes.  

Peter had been out fishing all night.  

He was the expert here.  

He knew that you didn’t catch fish in the day; especially when you had fished all night in the same spot and came up empty.  

However, Peter was willing, at the Word of Jesus, to let down the net and see what would happen.  And what happened?  

They caught so many fish that their net was breaking and they required help from the surrounding boats.  

The Lord sees the big picture.  

At best, we only see fragments of the picture at any given time. 

When the Lord guides and directs us we can resort to

 “you want me to do what?” 

and refuse because we don’t understand the plan, or we, 

like Peter, can answer,

 “nevertheless, at Your word” 

and lower the net and watch with amazement at what the Lord will do!

Have you ever responded to direction from the Lord with, “You want me to do what?” Were you able to step out in faith as Peter did?  What happened as a result?

Change is inevitable, growth is optional. 

Change comes whether we want it or not.  

But when change comes we can choose to go through it kicking and screaming or we can embrace it resulting in growth.  

Luke tells us that Jesus increased in wisdom and stature.  

He was the Son of God and yet He still increased in wisdom, the same why he grew in a physical sense. 

As He increased in wisdom, 

He increased in favor with God and with men.  

As we move through life, embracing the changes we encounter and growing through the experience, we too will find favour with God and men. 

Life is not static.

 Life is dynamic. 

Embrace the change and walk willingly into the growth that is available to you.

It is interesting to note that from the very start of Jesus’s ministry His intent and purpose was to be about “My Father’s business.” 

What does going about “My Father’s business” look like? 

The first thing to note was that Jesus sat and listened and asked questions. 

V 12 tells us that Jesus was twelve years old when he went up to Jerusalem with His parents.  

At the end of the trip they started home and realized He was not with them.  

When they journeyed back to Jerusalem they found Him in the temple, with the teachers, listening and asking questions.  

If Jesus sat and listened and asked questions, then surely we can humble ourselves to take the time to sit and ask questions. 

The second thing of interest was that Jesus assumed that His parents would have understood where He was and what He was doing. 

It was clear to Him what His purpose and intent looked like and He assumed that would show clearly to those around Him.  

Is our intent and purpose to be “about the Father’s business” clearly seen and understood by those around us? 

With all this in mind can we honestly say we are going “about our Father’s business”? 

Are we seeking the Father, humbling ourselves to listen and ask questions, and is our intent and purpose clear to those around us? 

Or are we winging it, doing out own thing and hoping that others see Jesus us in us regardless of whether we are walking out His plan or our own plan?  

Oh that we would see the Lord daily for guidance and direction that we would truly be “about our Father’s business.”