The Faith of Simon

The other day I spent my morning quiet time reading Luke chapter 5. I found myself struck by the faith that Simon showed as he interacted with Jesus for the first time. Simon, a fisherman, has spent his entire night fishing on the Lake of Gennesaret and has not caught a thing! He has given up and is now on shore washing his nets after what I am sure felt like a wasted night of fishing.
Jesus approaches Simon and ask him to take him out a little ways from shore in his boat so he can teach people on the shore. Simon does this and Jesus once again speaks to the crowd. After he has finished Jesus tells Simon to “Put out into deep water, let down the nets for a catch”. Simon explains to Jesus that he has been working all night trying to catch fish and has not caught a thing. This is where I am greatly encouraged by Simons faith, because even though he has already experienced failure in the same spot he tells Jesus “but because you say so, I will let down the nets”. Simons shows a faith in Jesus even though his prior experiences tell him that Jesus could be wrong. He trust Jesus and is willing to follow him , doing what was asked of him. Perhaps Jesus is rewarding him for his willingness to take him out in the boat or maybe Jesus is trying to show him that when he has faith in him he will be provided for. I am not sure, but what I am certain of is when Simon trust Jesus, despite not catching a thing all night, he is rewarded with so many fish that his nets began to break.
In a season of my life when I am being challenged daily to trust God to provide I find great encouragement in Simon’s faith. At times my experiences or the way of the world tells me that I need to be making more money this year or taking out more loans for graduate school. However, I find that I want to live more like Simon, trusting Jesus and his calling on my life, even when it doesn’t always make sense. As I continue to work to trust God with everything in my life, my challenge is that you too would trust that God’s provisions and love are larger than ANYTHING else. Too often we put our faith in our finances or our possessions and are left still worrying. Put your faith in God and give him all areas of your life, it’s not always easy, but it puts the role of the provider on God, where it truly belongs.