If God calls you, you have to jump
Dr. Roberto Miranda
(Audio: Spanish)
SUMMARY: In order to have a deep relationship with Jesus and be used by Him, we must put aside our doubts, fears, and human reasoning. The Christian life is one of obedience and surrender. When God calls us, we must obey even if it seems impossible or there are obstacles in our way. God is faithful and will take care of the things we cannot solve or explain. By obeying God, we can see His Glory manifested in our lives and bless others. This is part of a series of messages on miraculous fishing and the calling of Peter to ministry.
Peter was willing to put his doubts, his fears, his human reasoning at the feet of Jesus and obey him in something that seemed rationally impossible. Peter reacts with surprise when Jesus tells him to cast his nets to fish. Pedro says: If all night in optimal conditions we have tried to fish and we have not been able to catch a single fish, what you are asking me seems impossible. But if You say it in Your Word I will cast the net.
This is important for us to understand. If we truly want to have a deep relationship with Jesus Christ, to know him in all his mystery, in all his Holiness, and be used by him, we have to put aside our human reasoning, our doubts, our fears. If He calls us we have to jump in. The Christian life is a life of obedience, it is a life of subjection, it is a life of surrender of all our being, including many times the reservations we have, the reasonings that are in conflict with the absolute claims of the Lord. The person who is merely carried away by reason and who allows doubts, the apparent contradictions in the Bible, the contradictions and inconsistencies of the Church and the children of God, the pastors and the servants of the Gospel, the person who allows these things hinder your relationship with God, your service to the Lord, you can never truly be used and blessed by God.
Many times the Lord will want to use you in some way and will ask you, even as in my case, to give him your professional and intellectual dreams, and that you leave everything behind as they left their boat in fact to serve Him. And in those moments perhaps you will think Well, my family, who is going to support it? How am I going to support my family, support it financially? I have no academic or ministerial training. There will be many doubts and many fears, and many things that will come to your mind when the Lord issues a call to you. There will be things that will be like obstacles, as Peter experienced the Lord telling him: Hey, cast your nets now when it does not seem that they are the best conditions to fish.
It will be a time of crisis for your life, in which you will have to decide if you are going to let doubts, fears, negative circumstances around you, apparent obstacles prevent you from taking a step of faith and launching yourself into the call of Christ. emit, or like Peter, put aside your fears and your doubts and say: well, Lord, if that is what You are asking me, I will do it in Your Name, and I will let You take care of the consequences and of the things that I cannot solve and explain at the moment. When Peter says: Lord, in Your Word, because there is the reason. The Lord is committed to us. If God commands you to do something and you are sure that God has asked you to do it, do it and do not worry about the rest.
The Lord is responsible for the things that you cannot answer or solve; his Word is faithful, his Word is trustworthy, his character is absolutely faithful. So when Peter takes that step of faith I imagine that something was broken inside him, and he could then be an instrument and see the Glory of God, and likewise until we take our pride, our intellect and put it to the test. service of the Lord and we obey Him, simply in obedience, we cannot see the Glory of the Lord. We have to do that, and then we see that when Peter did this, the Glory of God was manifested, he was able to have a great miraculous catch, and bless others in their lives as well. That can happen in your life if you subject your doubts, your fears to the claims of the Lord Jesus Christ. This meditation is part of a series of five short messages on miraculous fishing and the calling of the Apostle Peter to the ministry. In them, Dr. Miranda discusses practical aspects of Christian growth and service:
This is important for us to understand. If we truly want to have a deep relationship with Jesus Christ, to know him in all his mystery, in all his Holiness, and be used by him, we have to put aside our human reasoning, our doubts, our fears. If He calls us we have to jump in. The Christian life is a life of obedience, it is a life of subjection, it is a life of surrender of all our being, including many times the reservations we have, the reasonings that are in conflict with the absolute claims of the Lord. The person who is merely carried away by reason and who allows doubts, the apparent contradictions in the Bible, the contradictions and inconsistencies of the Church and the children of God, the pastors and the servants of the Gospel, the person who allows these things hinder your relationship with God, your service to the Lord, you can never truly be used and blessed by God.
Many times the Lord will want to use you in some way and will ask you, even as in my case, to give him your professional and intellectual dreams, and that you leave everything behind as they left their boat in fact to serve Him. And in those moments perhaps you will think Well, my family, who is going to support it? How am I going to support my family, support it financially? I have no academic or ministerial training. There will be many doubts and many fears, and many things that will come to your mind when the Lord issues a call to you. There will be things that will be like obstacles, as Peter experienced the Lord telling him: Hey, cast your nets now when it does not seem that they are the best conditions to fish.
It will be a time of crisis for your life, in which you will have to decide if you are going to let doubts, fears, negative circumstances around you, apparent obstacles prevent you from taking a step of faith and launching yourself into the call of Christ. emit, or like Peter, put aside your fears and your doubts and say: well, Lord, if that is what You are asking me, I will do it in Your Name, and I will let You take care of the consequences and of the things that I cannot solve and explain at the moment. When Peter says: Lord, in Your Word, because there is the reason. The Lord is committed to us. If God commands you to do something and you are sure that God has asked you to do it, do it and do not worry about the rest.
The Lord is responsible for the things that you cannot answer or solve; his Word is faithful, his Word is trustworthy, his character is absolutely faithful. So when Peter takes that step of faith I imagine that something was broken inside him, and he could then be an instrument and see the Glory of God, and likewise until we take our pride, our intellect and put it to the test. service of the Lord and we obey Him, simply in obedience, we cannot see the Glory of the Lord. We have to do that, and then we see that when Peter did this, the Glory of God was manifested, he was able to have a great miraculous catch, and bless others in their lives as well. That can happen in your life if you subject your doubts, your fears to the claims of the Lord Jesus Christ. This meditation is part of a series of five short messages on miraculous fishing and the calling of the Apostle Peter to the ministry. In them, Dr. Miranda discusses practical aspects of Christian growth and service:
