Let down the nets.

Follow Me. 
On Monday, part of my Bible reading plan (OWNit365 One Story) was Mark 5:1-11.  Jesus was teaching at a lake while nearby fishermen were washing their nets.  These fisherman knew how to fish.  They had the skill and the equipment needed to catch fish. In verse 4, Jesus said to one of them named Simon, “Go out into the deep water and let down the nets for a catch.”
Here’s Simon’s response:  “We’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything.  But because you say so I will let down the nets.”
And what happened next?  They caught so many fish, their nets were breaking.  They had to get help from another boat and both boats were so full they started to sink.
Those verses jumped off of the screen for me.
Let down the nets.  
It made me realize that I don’t always wait for Jesus to say, “Let down the nets.”  It was convicting. Sometimes I just forge ahead and do the next thing.  How hard do I “work and catch nothing” when I do it in my own timing, strength, and wisdom?

God, help me to let go and to trust and wait and depend on you to say, “NOW!  Yes!  This.  Do it.  Let down the nets.”

That was my prayer.
I’d like to tell you it stuck, but only a few hours later I heard about a fun blogging opportunity and my brain shifted into make-it-happen gear, and I was already planning it, theme and all. I had the nets in the water waiting in the scorching sun, when I heard Him gently say,  “I didn’t say drop the nets.”  Oops.
Blogging brings me so much joy, but it can also be a high pressure cooker filled with platforms, followers, likes, comments, link-ups, guest posts, giveaways, tweets, images, buttons, widgets, and shares etc.  It can really get overwhelming fast.  So much and so fast that I forget to pause, and listen.
Blogging is just one example, but I can think of many other ways I blaze my own trail in life and do the next thing.  Make it happen.  Go for it.   Good things!  Helpful things, but maybe not the things He wants me to do.  Maybe he’s not asking me to do them now, or even at all.  Maybe they are just clutter, distractions, and noise that take my focus off of God.  Maybe this is another way I need to sweep!
Hold On…Until He says so.  
What if I just hold onto the nets and lean in?  What if I am intentional to spend more time with Him, and to be quiet and listen? What if I wait patiently and drop the nets only when He says, “Yes. Go. Now.”   I may miss some posts and some link-ups.  I may miss a lot, but if I am quiet, and listening – I won’t miss His voice.
I won’t miss His strength, His wisdom, and His power.
I won’t miss Him.
God, give me faith!
What about you?
Do these verses in Mark speak to your heart?
In what areas of your life do you sense you may need to pause, slow down, and listen for Him?
Pause to worship:
“Give Me Faith” – Elevation Worship :  I may be weak but your spirit’s strong in me.  My flesh may fail, but my God you never will!