Because HE Said So!

 

“Simon answered, `Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything.  But because you say so, I will let down the nets’” (Luke 5:5 NIV84).

             Have you ever had a situation in your life, where you felt God calling you to do something that made absolutely no sense to you?  Have you ever looked at the Scripture through your human perspective and thought “That’s not a reasonable demand on us”?

             That’s just where Simon Peter was that day at the lake.  Simon and some other fishermen had been fishing all night and had nothing to show for their labor.  They were fishermen by trade, so they knew when the fish were biting, they knew when it was the best time to fish, and they knew when it was time to haul in the nets.  Peter tried to tell Christ that it didn’t make any sense to put the nets back in the water because the fish weren’t biting, but after giving Christ his human perspective, Peter went one step further.  He said, “because you say so, I will let down the nets.”  Peter knew that what he was about to do made absolutely no sense, but he also knew that Christ had given him a commandment, and he made the decision to obey, even when it made no sense.

              I’m guessing that Mary probably felt that same way when Gabriel said to her “You will be with child and give birth to a son…” (Luke 1:31a, NIV84).  After all, she was a virgin.  It’s completely understandable that her first words in response were “How will this be?” (Luke 1:34a, NIV84).  It wasn’t that she didn’t believe Gabe; she simply didn’t have a clue as to how it could happen.  It just didn’t make sense! However, just like Peter, she accepted this word from God without further questions.  Her ultimate response was “I am the Lord’s servant” (Luke 1:38a, NIV84). 

             Mary wasn’t the only one who had to deal with God’s directions that didn’t make sense.  The Lord told Joseph in a dream that he should still take Mary as his wife, even though she had become pregnant before their marriage was consummated.  That would have been enough of a shock in that culture but then came the words “because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20b, NIV84).  I think anyone in that circumstance would have thought “that doesn’t make sense.”  Yet, Joseph did exactly as he had been told, no questions asked. 

             There will be times in our lives when God doesn’t make sense – at least not from our human perspective.  He may call us to tithe when we are already having trouble making ends meet.  He may lead us to leave a good job, with lots of security and benefits, to serve on a mission field.  He may ask us to reach out to someone who hurt us and show them love and kindness instead of retaliation.  If we immerse ourselves in His Scripture and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, we will find that God asks us to do a lot of things that don’t make any sense to us. Like Peter, we must learn to say, “because You say so,” I will obey.  Like Mary, we must decide whether we will be His servant or not.  Like Joseph, we need to follow His directions, no questions asked, simply “because He said so”!

 

I John 2: 3

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