Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Luke 5 before reading the devotional below.
“If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” This jaded statement is sadly accurate in our world full of bait-and-switch trickery and high pressure sales tactics. “But wait! There’s more! Only 17 easy payments of $29.95! Plus a FREE gift worth $8,000,000 — yours for only $50 more!” And by the time your brand new electric toothbrush with mood-detecting bristles shows up in the mailbox, you start to wonder what you were thinking.
Now rewind to a very distant era with no electricity and very few resources, all of which take tremendous physical effort to obtain. You’re a fisherman, which means you smell awful and probably swear a lot. You work at night, and sometimes you get zero profit from your efforts. You’re exhausted and frustrated, cleaning out your nets before calling it quits for the day. Along comes this guy who is new to the scene. He seems different enough and rumors have circulated enough that you immediately call him “Master.” He tells you to go back out there and try to catch some more fish. You do it, but not without complaining first and threatening an “I told you so” that will surely come after he sees there are no fish to be caught. Turns out his instructions give you a week’s worth of fish in five minutes, and he just has a little smirk on his face as your boat starts sinking from fish overload.
What would you do next? Say thank you? Be amazed? In Luke 5:8, Peter basically freaks out and pushes Jesus away. He literally tells Jesus to leave. Why? Because Peter is confronted by his own sin. He knows he doesn’t deserve what Jesus just gave him. It’s too good to be true.
I have talked to so many people who have the exact same reaction to Jesus. “He forgives me? No way, with what I’ve done that can’t be true. Maybe for other people, but not me.” Others react this way when God starts to pour good gifts into their lives. “Thanks God… but what do you want? What am I going to have to give up now that you gave me this? When is the other shoe going to drop?”
Here’s your freedom for today: God loves being extremely generous. He likes watching you struggle to manage the piles of good gifts he’s pouring into your life. Sometimes you can’t keep up with the load of blessing he’s dumping on you. You have two choices: push Jesus away or follow him. Literally walk away from everything that feels secure and safe to chase after some guy who nearly sank your boat. Live life with curiosity as you chase after Jesus — what’s he going to do next??