Trusting Jesus
If you want the change that Jesus can bring, you have to trust Him!
Notice how Peter had to trust in Jesus when he let Him into that boat. Because Jesus asked something strange of him: “When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.’
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.’ When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.” (Luke 5:4–7 NIV)
Trusting God Over Ourselves
This was an act of faith from Peter. From his perspective, it seemed like a silly thing to do. He was the fisherman by trade; he knew what he was doing. Jesus, on the other hand, was a carpenter by trade. And Jesus comes and says, “I want you to do this.”
Peter could easily have said, “Trust me, Lord! I got this!” But he wisely said, “I trust YOU, Lord…” and see what happened.
It reminds me of a brilliant old proverb: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5–6 NIV)
Trust in God and not in your own understanding. Submit to Him. Open yourself up and let Him in. He will make your paths straight if you submit in faith.
This is the secret to the changed life we’ve been speaking of: it is trusting in Jesus even when what He says doesn’t seem to make sense.
My Choice to Trust God
I grew up in the Methodist church. It seemed obvious for me to become a Methodist minister. But as I got closer to the point of leaving to go to the Methodist seminary, I just felt very uneasy about it. The more I thought and prayed, the more I sensed this was not where I needed to go.
The voice of reason in my head said: Just do it. You’ll get placed in a nice Methodist church when you’re done, and you’ll be taken care of. It makes sense to go this way. But in my spirit, I knew it was not the place for me anymore. It was as if Jesus was saying: “Put your net down into the water again.”
And so, in faith, Shereen and I stayed in Gauteng, trusting that God would provide a place for us. That’s just what happened. I’m so glad we listened.
Jesus changed our lives—not only when we let Him in—but when we trusted Him even when it seemed like His way was not the most logical way.
An Invitation to Trust
Perhaps today Jesus is saying to you, “Put your net into the water,” whatever that may mean for you. Do this… Go there… Start this… Speak to this person… Start going to this church, or this Bible study, or whatever… And in your wisdom, it seems silly. You think, My friends will laugh. My family will think I’ve lost it. I’d rather just avoid this change altogether.
Trust in Him. Trust in Him and see how He changes your life!
History is filled with people who trusted God and opened themselves to Him, and they found relief, they found delight, they found joy and transformation when they trusted in Him.
You can trust in Jesus. I hope you will trust Him today.
