Trending
We often speak of opportunity knocking. Someone has said that if opportunity came disguised as temptation, one knock would be enough. That may be so. We also think of Christ standing at the door knocking. The only handle is on the inside. He doesn't crash down the door. We must open it ourselves.
These two images, opportunity knocking and Christ knocking, converge in two fishing boats that lay empty by the side of a lake. The fishermen have given up for the day. They're standing near the boats cleaning out their nets. Their faces are weary with discouragement. They're not fishing for sport. This is their living, and they're not making much progress.
Anyone in sales knows the feeling. Prospect after prospect says no. Anyone who has ever started their own business knows the feeling. There are many rewards, but also many times when the future looks bleak. Farmers know what it's like. You realize with a sinking feeling that coming year's crop isn't measuring up. And it's not because you haven't worked. That's the frustrating part. You've worked harder than ever. But the rain came at the wrong time. One week sooner and you would have had a bumper crop.
Even young people know about times of discouragement. You've worked hard preparing for a test in school. But somehow you seemed to have studied the wrong assignment. You had hoped for an A, but now you'll settle just to pass. We've all been there, haven't we?
All of us get discouraged at times. We can sympathize with these fishermen standing beside their boats with nothing to show for their labors. All they can do now is clean their nets and hope for a better day tomorrow.
Then, along comes Jesus. What powerful words, "Along comes Jesus." This is the testimony of former major league baseball player for the San Diego Padres, Dave Dravecky, who is coping with the loss of his pitching arm to cancer. He might have been finished psychologically and physically dealing with such a devastating burden, but into the scene stepped Jesus. Dravecky put it this way, "I am not getting through the loss of my arm because I am a great coper. I'm getting through it because I have a Father in heaven who is a great giver."
How about the testimony of an elderly woman who as thrown into prison because of her faith in Christ? Living in country hostile to Christianity he was frightened and alone. But along came Jesus. Instead of being bitter or frightened, she learned to thank God for her confinement. "Now I can be alone with the Lord Jesus," she said.
Here is the answer to all discouragement, all disillusionment, all debasement. Jesus.
Clarence Darrow, the great criminal lawyer of another day, had among his friends a young minister. This seems strange because Clarence was usually thought of as an atheist, infidel, and an agnostic.
They were talking one day, and Clarence began to reminisce. He talked of his career and some of the famous trials in which he had been the lawyer for the defense. He said, "This has been an exciting life." He had made at least a comfortable fortune and modestly he guessed he might be regarded somewhat of a success.
Then Clarence asked, "Would you like to know my favorite Bible verse?" His friend said, "Indeed I would." Clarence said, "Luke 5:5 "We have toiled all the night and have taken nothing." He added, "In spite of my success that verse seems to sum up the way I feel about life." Clarence, for all his accomplishments, still had an emptiness in his life, an emptiness only Christ can fill.
These fishermen had worked all night and had caught nothing. They were physically and mentally exhausted. Then along came Jesus. Notice what Jesus told them to do. Launch out into the deep. Throw your nets on the other side of the boat. What he was telling them was to exercise their faith. Faith in him, faith in their own abilities as fishermen, faith in the abundance of the seas. It was Peter who spoke up: "Lord we've toiled all night and have caught nothing, but at your word, we will do it." Jesus restored their faith, and that was precisely what they needed at that moment in their lives.
Many of us need that same word from Christ, don't we? The biggest barrier to success for many of us is the fear of launching out. It's the fear of change. It's our reluctance to act.
We may be happy with our lives, dissatisfied with our work, discouraged and disillusioned. We may feel like life is passing us by. What can we do about it? Nothing! Experts tell us most of us have a built-in resistance to change. We're afraid to rock the boat. Afraid to start that new business we've been dreaming about for years. Afraid to follow that dream of returning to school. Afraid to build that dream house. Afraid to take that trip around the world. Afraid to say, "I love you." And Christ comes along and says, "Don't be afraid. I am with you. Launch out into the deep. Put down your nets." That's what the disciples did, and you know what happened. They brought in so many fish they nearly sank their boats. It would not have happened if they hadn't exercised their faith.
This is a wonderful, abundant world God has created for us. Let's trust Christ's word and launch out into the deep, whatever that means in our lives. We are not alone. And when Christ comes along let's answer the door to his knock. He won't break down the door, but if we trust him, he'll give us new life. For He is the answer to all discouragement.
ØØØ
Rev. Charles Eldredge, a graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, has a Facebook page and he may be contacted by email: ce1133@verizon.net