Genuine Faith Precedes Abundant Blessing

They left everything and followed Him.
—-Luke 5:11

As we look at biblical principles that help us find our purpose in life, we see in Luke 5 that genuine faith precedes abundant blessing.

Now here is a simple truth of the story of Luke 5: without faith, there would have been no fish. If the disciples had not put their nets into the water, then they would not have experienced the miracle of the fish. We see this principle throughout the Bible. Unless the Israelites had marched around Jericho that seventh time on the seventh day, the walls never would have collapsed. Unless Naaman had had the faith to dip himself that seventh time into the Jordan River, he never would have experienced healing. Unless the apostle Peter had had the faith to get out of the boat and get his feet wet, he never would have walked on the water. Genuine faith always precedes abundant blessings.

Yet most of us want to play it safe. We want to let God make the first step before we respond in faith instead of stepping out in the deep. What is God calling you to do right now? Maybe change your vocation? Maybe begin a new ministry? Maybe start investing more of your time and your financial resources in His kingdom’s work? Let’s face it: launching out into the deep waters of uncertainty can be very challenging. It can even be scary at times. It would be much easier if God would show us the results of our obedience before we obey. But it doesn’t work that way. Genuine faith always precedes abundant blessing.

That leads to another principle from this story in Luke 5: God’s call on our lives is total, not partial. When Jesus called these men to become fishers of men, they didn’t say, “Wait a minute, Lord. We need to take care of the boats first. We need to entrust our boats to somebody in case this disciple-making thing doesn’t work out.” They didn’t say, “Wait a minute, Lord. We need to prepare these fish and save them in case we come up needy at some point.” No, Luke 5:11 says, “They left everything and followed Him.”

Maybe you know exactly what God is calling you to do. You know what that next step of obedience is. But you want to play it safe. It would be a lot easier if you could keep one foot on the dry ground before launching out into the deep. But living according to God’s purpose for your life doesn’t work that way.

James 1:8 says that a “double-minded man” is “unstable in all his ways.” God calls us to total obedience, not partial obedience. If you are trying to play it safe and still be obedient to God, it won’t work. God’s call on your life is total obedience so that you can experience the blessing He has for you that is beyond your imagination.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “A Fish Tale” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2016.

Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.