Hearing God’s voice is familiar places (Nurture Notes 005)

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Welcome to this week’s Nurture Note as we continue our exploration of Luke’s gospel. If you missed last week’s where we broke down chapter four, you can click here.

Anyone who’s been a Christian for any length of time will be familiar with some of the stories we read of in Luke chapter 5. And yet, rather than that being a reason to gloss over them as though we’ve heard it all before, I think this is all the more reason to pay attention to what the word is saying through what’s familiar - especially, dare I add, if we’re still not living out the truth of what’s been taught in these words. Today’s Nurture Note will focus on the first 11 verses of the chapter.

In perhaps a slightly different turn of events, I want to open this Nurture Note up with a question…

What is God calling you to do right now?

Perhaps, as you hear that question, your answer is immediate and rolls off of your tongue without a second thought.

On the other hand, the only thing rolling might be your eyes as you read it and wonder how many times you’ve been faced with that question only to come up short when it comes to a response. If you fall into that second camp, might I be so bold as to ask a second question?

When was the last time you gave yourself the opportunity to hear him speaking to you?

Now please, don’t get me wrong here. One glance at scripture and we understand that God is absolutely powerful enough to interrupt our day to day, our thoughts and our dreams whilst we’re paying him no attention at all. However, we also know that eagerly seeking him and sitting at his feet isn’t to be taken lightly.

I ask these questions because the opening of Luke chapter 5 gives us a bit of a look into how to respond to them.

Jesus is teaching God’s word and people are listening. As we covered last week, he was operating in the power of the Spirit and with such authority that people almost had no choice but to stop and listen.

On this particular occasion though, Jesus wanted to provide a practical illustration of what he was teaching as well as just his words.

“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)

When I’ve pictured this scene in my mind before, I’ve imagined a calm and casual conversation between Jesus and Simon but in re-reading these words, we note that actually, Jesus did what he was about to do here within the context of community. Crowds of people had come to hear him and so Jesus hops into a boat, sails out a little into the lake, finishes his sermon and then, assumedly still in front of this huge crowd, tells Simon to put his nets back in the water for a catch.

If I’m being honest, I think that Simon Peter’s response here is actually pretty polite. These fishermen were undoubtedly exhausted and had essentially been doing what Jesus was asking them to do for the entire night.

Have you ever felt like this? Worn down entirely by the challenges and trials of day to day life - perhaps even wondering if God hears you at all as you grapple with whether or not you heard correctly when God told you to go - to do?

Perhaps you’ve tried one too many times and feel as though you’ve been let down enough to be as silly as to keep going in the midst of the trial?

And yet note Simon Peter’s words here… “But, because you say so, I will let down the nets.” In other words, God was put in his rightful place here by Simon Peter.

God can absolutely handle us asking ‘why?’ but sometimes he’s also in the business of “because I said so” too, when we’re behaving like young children questioning their parents.

Sure enough, this public interaction and the results which come from it, show both Simon Peter and his fellow fishermen, along with the entirety of the crowds around them, that being at the end of our resources is only the very beginning of God’s.

“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 5:6-7)

Exceedingly and abundantly beyond all we can ask, think and even imagine - this catch completely blew those on the boats away (and the crowds surrounding them, I’m sure). And their response to recognising they were witnessing the makings of a miracle?

“When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8)

As I initially mentioned, I thought that Simon Peter’s response was quite reasonable when he said that because Jesus asked, he’d let down his nets. And yet when he saw what Jesus was able to do by way of this small act of obedience, he was sorry.

We can’t be 100% sure why this was his response. However, one could assume that when he obeyed, perhaps there wasn’t much faith behind his action, maybe? Whatever it was, this was quite an extreme reaction.

Jesus wasn’t phased by this though. He’s not phased by our humanness - our emotions and indeed, our fluctuating faith. Bear in mind here though - Simon Peter wasn’t yet a disciple of Jesus in that he wasn’t walking closely alongside him. Jesus perhaps had more grace for him because he didn’t expect him to know what someone who has been walking with him for years should know.

Jesus understands your humanness and your emotions too. However, remind yourself of those initial questions regarding what he’s calling you to do and when the last time was that you lingered enough to listen to him in terms of what he’s saying to you. Where’s your faith at in response to those questions?

As with Simon Peter, Jesus knows and Jesus cares. And yet, he still calls us. For Simon Peter, it was to leave the nets and follow him. For you, calling might look like staying with your (figurative or literal) nets a while longer. Whatever it looks like for you, the key is to listen for his voice as you learn of where he’s leading…

As ever, we’re exploring these concepts more deeply as we dwell on the passage with daily journal prompts, a private podcast and a group chat over in Rooted Rhythms. Not a member yet? Why not?! There’s so much for you to sink your teeth into - not in a way which means you’re doing more, instead, in a way which means you’re more grounded and available for growth. Click HERE to learn more. I’d love to see you on the inside.

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