SundayReflection

  14^th May 2023

  Jeff Lucas shares

How to Believe
  in What You Can't See

Living by faith in this fallen world can sometimes be like
walking through a fog, where you can't see where you're going.
You want to believe that God is with you on your journey, but
you can't seem to find him while challenges such as sadness,
shame, doubts, and confusion obscure your vision.

Jesus shared breakfast on a beach with his disciples after his
resurrection, and the story of that morning reveals that God
sometimes shows up in unexpected ways -
breaking through the fog of ordinary life with surprising insights.

Studying that story can help you believe in what you can't see.

Just as Jesus' disciples were caught up in a fog of grief
(after his death on the cross), you, too, will always be struggling with
some kind of fog surrounding you because the sin in this world obscures
the way God originally intended it to be.

Face the reality of the fog around you,
and be honest with God about it.
Once you face the fog, you can start the
process of breaking through it.

Jesus was right there on the shore when the disciples looked over there
from their fishing boat - but at first, they didn't recognise him.
God has promised to be with you always, so choose to trust his promise,
even when you can't sense the reality of his presence with you.

Keep in mind that the Bible says while we're living in this fallen world,
our perception of God is like a reflection in a mirror,
but when we get to heaven we'll be able to see him face to face.

Despite their hard work fishing, the disciples hadn't caught any fish to offer
Jesus as food for the breakfast meal they shared that morning.
But once Jesus helped them, they caught so many fish that their nets were
straining from being full.

Jesus is willing to meet you wherever you are and help you move forward
from there. Don't worry about coming to Jesus empty-handed,
since he loves you unconditionally.

He knows all about your weaknesses and failures, yet loves you completely
anyway. Accept that love by inviting him to fill the empty places
in your soul with his great love.

The disciples chose to cast their fishing nets into the Sea of Galilee
one more time because Jesus asked them to - even though they were
discouraged from having failed to catch anything through their
previous efforts.

Then, they experienced incredible success.
No matter how discouraged you become, decide to keep living faithfully
(such as showing up at church to worship God), and God will eventually
give you a breakthrough.

At breakfast, Jesus reminded his disciple Peter that he had denied
knowing Jesus prior to the Crucifixion, but then forgave Peter for his sin.

God won't minimise, excuse, or overlook your sins, but he will forgive them
if you confess them and repent by turning away from them.
Break free of shame by accepting God's forgiveness and moving forward
in his grace.

Jesus' conversation with the disciples during breakfast implied that
their futures would include some suffering and mystery that would
make them uncomfortable.

Faith doesn't make anyone impervious to going through tough times or
circumstances that don't make sense to human understanding.
Choose to trust God with your future, no matter what, since he has good
purposes planned for your life.

The famous question that Jesus asked Peter during this
resurrection appearance was:
"Do you love me?"

Jesus wanted to know how much Peter truly loved him -
how committed Peter really was to making a relationship
with Jesus his top priority.

Jesus is asking the same of you.
Once Peter devoted himself wholeheartedly to following Jesus again,
Jesus reinstated him to leadership.

Jesus will work through your life in powerful ways after you
devote yourself to him.

Peter asked Jesus what would happen to another disciple, John,
and Jesus essentially tells Peter that he should focus only on
God's plans for his own life rather than getting distracted by
what God may do in other people's lives.

Keep your own focus on what matters most:
following where Jesus leads you. When you do,
fog will clear out of your life so you can see how
God is doing something great through you.

Adapted from Faith in the Fog: Believing in What You Cannot See,
copyright 2014 by Jeff Lucas. Published by Zondervan, a division of
HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Grand Rapids, Mich..,
www.zondervan.com.

Author and speaker Jeff Lucas travels internationally in a ministry of
Bible teaching which carries a specific vision to encourage and
equip the church.