Trusting in the Lord (part 2)

The prophet Jeremiah wrote, "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord and whose hope the Lord is." (Jeremiah 17:5,7) What does "Trusting in the Lord" look like?  God has given us natural abilities and resources that we can use to produce results and He has given us spiritual blessings through which He can perform His will in our lives.  To what extent do we rely on the natural versus the spiritual to meet our needs or as we encounter daunting difficulties and trials?  

We will look to God's Word to shed light on this question.
Luke records the account of Jesus standing by the lake of Gennesaret where people are pressing upon Him to hear the Word of God.  He sees two ships standing by the lake and He enters into Simon's ship and tells him to thrust out a little from the land.  The ship becomes a "floating pulpit" from which Jesus teaches the people.

When He finishes speaking, He says to Simon, "Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught (haul)." (Luke 5:4) Jesus says this though He sees that the fisherman had gone out of their boats and were cleaning their nets and that they had just previously been fishing and caught nothing.  This is also verified because after Jesus gives command to launch out into the deep, Simon (Peter) responds, saying, "Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless, at Thy Word I will let down the net."  Simon had used all their natural resources (boats and nets) and their fishing expertise to catch fish but came up empty handed.  Notice that Simon didn't say they inquired of the Lord that night and then went fishing.

This time, at Jesus' Word, Simon leaves the shore and launches into the deep.  "And when they had done this, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.  And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship that they should come and help them.  And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.  When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.  For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken." (Luke 5:6-9) Notice that Simon recognized that the Lord had blessed him; not because he was a perfect man, but because of the mercy and goodness that God freely bestowed upon him.

In this account, God fully employed the abilities and resources of those He worked through.  Both boats, both nets and all the skilled fishermen were fully utilized to get results.  However, one fishing expedition ended up failing and the other ended up succeeding.  What made the difference?  Was the outcome all left up to God or was it all left up to men?  In one sense, we could say it was all up to God because from where did these men get their skill and their resources?  What does any person possess that they didn't ultimately receive from the Lord?

  He gives us the very air we breathe!  But notice that these men succeeded after they employed their God given talents and resources AT THE DIRECTION OF THE LORD.  God didn't do their fishing for them.  They did the fishing but they weren't working independent from Him.  Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. IN ALL THY WAYS acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."
What if Simon had relied on his own understanding as Jesus gave command to launch out into the deep.  After all, they were experienced fishermen who had labored all night and caught nothing.  What did Jesus know about fishing?  He was the "carpenter's son" from Nazareth!  Simon's head would have said, "I'm tired, we've tried and Jesus knows nothing about fishing. We'll try again later."  If Simon had leaned to his own understanding, he would have by-passed a "net breaking" miracle!

Also, notice the manner in which Jesus blessed them.  When was the last time they filled both boats and nets with that many fish!  When was the last time they were "astonished" at the draught of fishes they had taken?  Before Jesus came along, it might have taken 3 or 4 fishing ventures to catch as many fish as they caught in one trip simply by acknowledging the Lord in their endeavor.  

What is the lesson to be learned from this account?  It doesn't matter how skilled we are, how smart we are or how much we own.  God wants us to look to Him in all our ways.  Our trust should always be in Him and Him alone.  As we will see in future articles, some of the greatest miracles of provision and protection were performed on behalf of God's people apart from the deployment of their resources and ability.  Sometimes, God used only a portion of what was available to them.  

One thing is for certain, if our trust is always in the Lord, He will bless us in all of our ways as He directs our paths!