And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. Luke 5:1-7
Often times we love to look at the beautiful coral reefs that are in the warm shallow waters of the ocean. The vibrant colors catch our eye, the tiny sea creatures' breath like movements captivate us, and we can't wait to jump right in and see, touch, and feel it for ourselves. Beyond the striking reefs there's a different kind of sea life and creature. Venturing down deep to the ocean floor the temperature begins to drop, the light reflections off the water disappear, the painter's palate of colors all fades to muted blacks, muddy browns, and the occasional pale splash of color. The creatures change from sweet flower like blossoms to razor toothed, creatures seeking prey.
The same can be said when considering assignments and especially when it comes to those assignments that you're married to. We all love those light easy breezy assignments. Go speak a word to that man at the gas pump, sow a seed in this service, teach your child a scripture, pray every day... yeah those are pretty easy, nice and light like the coral reef we all love to visit.
But what about when God ties you (in assignment) to someone, shows you where they're going and says stay until they get there, but they refuse to get His memo? When you have an unsaved spouse who makes it hard for you to stay saved? When your family doesn't receive you or agree with the changes you're making in life , but God calls you to minister to them? What about when you get stripped down to scraping change to make ends meet, just to show someone else how to trust God? Or when He puts you at a job you hate, you get paid less than what your qualifications demand, and you're the only saved person in the place? Or when He tells you to leave everything, pick up your cross and follow Him, LITERALLY? Looking a little like the deep to me..
Many of us are called to go into the deep for others. Just like the fishermen on Simon's ships, they had to launch out into the deep in order to be a blessing to the other ship. In other words, we have to stop scratching the surface of God in order to see manifestation in the things we pray for, believe for and are assigned to do. The men had been fishing all day and caught nothing, but once God gave the command and breathed on what they were doing, they ended up in overflow and abundance. So much so, that they began to sink. As the old church mother's say.. you can't beat God givin! Don't be afraid to launch out into the deep for others. If God can trust you to endure some affliction, some discomfort or sacrifice for others, He sees that He can trust you with that much more.
For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. Luke 12:48 b
He's requiring more! Be encouraged in launching out into the deep for others. The rewards are so much greater than any earthly treasures. I'm a witness.
One of my "into the deep" assignments is bearing fruit.... I'd been praying for him for 6+ years and just asking God to set him free and give him the boldness to introduce the rest of the world to the real him. The person I knew wasn't the one that everyone else met... I could always see God in him, hidden beneath the layers of what life had made him become. He often asked me what it was that I saw in him, but I could never verbalize it. I never chastened him for not living the life I saw for him or walking in the calling God showed me... I just loved him, prayed for him, and did the best I could to live like Christ before him. Well a few days before Christmas, I got the best gift I could have ever gotten. I called him just to say hey and we ended up talking for hours. He was at the grand opening of a friend's club, headed downstairs to get drunk. (See how god just moved right there...) He was like hey I'm out and I'm going to call you later but before I go I need to tell you something.. So he told me how the prayer cloth and the fact that my friends and I had been praying for his mom had helped restore her hope and faith. I was praising God for that alone... so as I prepared to hang up the phone, he had something else to tell me... this continued for about an hour or so before he finally told me that he was ready to give his life to God, that he's been doing some serious soul searching and self examination and that he needed to find out what it was that I saw in him for himself. He told me that he was jealous of me because sometimes when I call him I just seem so full like I'd just been fed a great meal and that he wanted to feel that and have that experience. This was coming from a self proclaimed heathen.
He continued on to tell me how many times I'd saved his life without knowing it just by answering his phone calls at 3 or 4 am, how I never looked down on him or treated him any different when he knew he broke my heart or treated me less than how i should have been, how sometimes he wouldn't answer my phone calls because I forced him to hold up the mirror and examine himself and that of all the people he's ever dated, liked, or loved (relationship wise), I was the only one who cared about his soul. I didn't say any of this to brag or give credit to myself because all the glory belongs to God. I didn't even know I was on assignment until the end of year 5. Even before I knew, I always prayed for him, fasted for him, and encouraged him to examine the things in his life that kept him wearing masks. The fact that he has such a desire to know God, discover the will and plan of God for his life and even has a renewed sense of urgency for a relationship with God is so awesome and just amazing... the things I endured during the assignment were more than worth it and if it means saving his soul... I'd do it 3 more times if God asked me to.
Mark 1:17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.
Launch into the deep, you never know who you might catch in the net!
Often times we love to look at the beautiful coral reefs that are in the warm shallow waters of the ocean. The vibrant colors catch our eye, the tiny sea creatures' breath like movements captivate us, and we can't wait to jump right in and see, touch, and feel it for ourselves. Beyond the striking reefs there's a different kind of sea life and creature. Venturing down deep to the ocean floor the temperature begins to drop, the light reflections off the water disappear, the painter's palate of colors all fades to muted blacks, muddy browns, and the occasional pale splash of color. The creatures change from sweet flower like blossoms to razor toothed, creatures seeking prey.
The same can be said when considering assignments and especially when it comes to those assignments that you're married to. We all love those light easy breezy assignments. Go speak a word to that man at the gas pump, sow a seed in this service, teach your child a scripture, pray every day... yeah those are pretty easy, nice and light like the coral reef we all love to visit.
But what about when God ties you (in assignment) to someone, shows you where they're going and says stay until they get there, but they refuse to get His memo? When you have an unsaved spouse who makes it hard for you to stay saved? When your family doesn't receive you or agree with the changes you're making in life , but God calls you to minister to them? What about when you get stripped down to scraping change to make ends meet, just to show someone else how to trust God? Or when He puts you at a job you hate, you get paid less than what your qualifications demand, and you're the only saved person in the place? Or when He tells you to leave everything, pick up your cross and follow Him, LITERALLY? Looking a little like the deep to me..
Many of us are called to go into the deep for others. Just like the fishermen on Simon's ships, they had to launch out into the deep in order to be a blessing to the other ship. In other words, we have to stop scratching the surface of God in order to see manifestation in the things we pray for, believe for and are assigned to do. The men had been fishing all day and caught nothing, but once God gave the command and breathed on what they were doing, they ended up in overflow and abundance. So much so, that they began to sink. As the old church mother's say.. you can't beat God givin! Don't be afraid to launch out into the deep for others. If God can trust you to endure some affliction, some discomfort or sacrifice for others, He sees that He can trust you with that much more.
For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. Luke 12:48 b
He's requiring more! Be encouraged in launching out into the deep for others. The rewards are so much greater than any earthly treasures. I'm a witness.
One of my "into the deep" assignments is bearing fruit.... I'd been praying for him for 6+ years and just asking God to set him free and give him the boldness to introduce the rest of the world to the real him. The person I knew wasn't the one that everyone else met... I could always see God in him, hidden beneath the layers of what life had made him become. He often asked me what it was that I saw in him, but I could never verbalize it. I never chastened him for not living the life I saw for him or walking in the calling God showed me... I just loved him, prayed for him, and did the best I could to live like Christ before him. Well a few days before Christmas, I got the best gift I could have ever gotten. I called him just to say hey and we ended up talking for hours. He was at the grand opening of a friend's club, headed downstairs to get drunk. (See how god just moved right there...) He was like hey I'm out and I'm going to call you later but before I go I need to tell you something.. So he told me how the prayer cloth and the fact that my friends and I had been praying for his mom had helped restore her hope and faith. I was praising God for that alone... so as I prepared to hang up the phone, he had something else to tell me... this continued for about an hour or so before he finally told me that he was ready to give his life to God, that he's been doing some serious soul searching and self examination and that he needed to find out what it was that I saw in him for himself. He told me that he was jealous of me because sometimes when I call him I just seem so full like I'd just been fed a great meal and that he wanted to feel that and have that experience. This was coming from a self proclaimed heathen.
He continued on to tell me how many times I'd saved his life without knowing it just by answering his phone calls at 3 or 4 am, how I never looked down on him or treated him any different when he knew he broke my heart or treated me less than how i should have been, how sometimes he wouldn't answer my phone calls because I forced him to hold up the mirror and examine himself and that of all the people he's ever dated, liked, or loved (relationship wise), I was the only one who cared about his soul. I didn't say any of this to brag or give credit to myself because all the glory belongs to God. I didn't even know I was on assignment until the end of year 5. Even before I knew, I always prayed for him, fasted for him, and encouraged him to examine the things in his life that kept him wearing masks. The fact that he has such a desire to know God, discover the will and plan of God for his life and even has a renewed sense of urgency for a relationship with God is so awesome and just amazing... the things I endured during the assignment were more than worth it and if it means saving his soul... I'd do it 3 more times if God asked me to.
Mark 1:17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.
Launch into the deep, you never know who you might catch in the net!
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