Drop your Nets

The last blog was all over the place because I had so much to say in one blog, but I thought this might help bring it together.

"And Jesus said to them, Come after Me and be My disciples, and I will make you to become fishers of men. At once they left their nets and followed Him." Mark 1:17-18

As I was spending time with the Lord today, the notion of leaving my nets kept rolling around in my mind. I have read this Bible story many times, and always thought how much courage it must have taken to leave everything and follow Jesus, but I have never experienced anything like it myself. Although my situation pales in comparison, I still believe that my plans were my nets. I was doing everything for the Lord, and they were all good things I was doing and good plans I was making, but the Lord asked me to leave them. I believe that the church youth group and the education program were what God had for me, but that season of my life is over. "There is a time for everything,and a season for every activity under the heavens." The decision to leave was incredibly hard, and I feel it was God asking me to give up my means for living and lay down the plans I had made for the future. Although I don't fish or even have a job now, the education program was to lead to my future career and held all my self-made achievements and accomplishments. I had gotten so caught up in preparing for the future I created that I had taken control of my life from God into my own hands. He asked me to drop what I was holding and let go of control of my life. Although we all say we want God to have control, we continually try to take over certain areas and handle them ourselves. Once we recognize we have done this, it is still painful and scary to let go of all that you have done and follow Him. It is usually inconvenient and makes you uncomfortable. God had to clear out my whole life almost to get me to the point of surrender, and I did not even realize I had taken control! I was doing it all in His name and for Him, but somewhere in there, I put myself on the throne in my life. I had stopped trusting and started doing what I thought was right. The Bible says,"The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse and corrupt and mortally sick! Who can understand it (Jeremiah 17)?" Without the Lord in charge, we revert back to our old ways. "He who leans on, trusts in, and is confident of his own mind and heart is a self-confident fool, but he who walks in skillful and godly Wisdom shall be delivered (Proverbs 28)." When we think we know best or follow our feelings, we are easily led astray! Like Proverbs 3 says,"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." Only God can make our paths straight. He knows best. Like Ephesians 2:10 says, "We are God's workmanship, recreated in Christ Jesus, that we may do those good works which God predestined for us, that we should walk in them." God created us, knows us best, remodeled us through Jesus, and created good things for us to do. All we have to do is just walk in what He has created for us.

So, that's what I am trying to do. I have dropped my nets and am waiting on the Lord. "I will wait for You, my strength, for God is my stronghold (Psalm 59)."
While it was so hard to give up, the Lord was faithful, like always, and has given my peace and joy! "Where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty (2 Cor. 3)!" I feel so free. Once you surrender, you give up the burden you weren't meant to bear. Satan loves to tell us the lie that we will feel better if we just handle it ourselves, but all it does it stress us out and set us up for failure because we can't do it on our own. With God in charge, I have no pressure, no guilt, no fear, and no burdens! I trust Him, and all I have to do is follow Him and walk in what He created me to do. The rest is up to Him. I feel like I have been throwing off all hindrances and am free!

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Heb. 12)."