How Do You Feel About Broken Nets?

One time I heard a lady say she was going to eat a Twinkies but the package was too hard to open so she took it as a sign that God didn't want her to eat them. I don't know how God feels about Twinkies. But I do know how God feels about hard things. Just because something h is hard, that doesn't mean it's bad.Or just because somethings hard, it isn't a for sure sign it's not from Him.

A ton of places in scripture show God allowing hard things to happen. Check this one out.

"One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him." Luke 5:1-11

In the face of a miracle, their nets broke. I'm sure Simon and the others (though maybe some skeptic bystanders) didn't get their panties in a bunch because their nets broke. Their eyes were so fixed on Jesus that it put the nets situation into perspective. And ya know, God probably used the broken nets to lead them to become fishers of men instead. I wonder if when Jesus called them to follow Him if they took a glance at their nets and said, "Well, our nets are broken anyway..."

The Lord promised hard things will happen in this life. (Jn 16:33) Hard things happen even right in the face of a really awesome thing. Kind of like this proverb, "Where there are no oxen, the stalls are clean; but much is produced by the strength of an ox." (Prov. 14:4). Basically, even with good things, gifts from Him, it'll come with having to clean a little poo. So when you see God working, expect things to not be perfect.  

So back to the Twinkies question. How do we know God's will? Well, that's a great question. Here's a great post about it-How to Know God's Will (& 3 Warning Signs).

Questions to reflect on:
What are you nets, your inconviences or hard things? How can you trust God with it?

About Laura

Laura, the creator and host of Missional Women is married and has four kids, two of whom are adopted. Laura and her husband have been missionaries to college students for 11 years serving with Master Plan Ministries. Laura is the Staff Women's Development Coordinator and has discipled over 150 girls, led over 30 Bible studies and speaks 10-20 times a year. Laura is an award winning author of a 12 week Bible Study on First Samuel, Beholding Him, Becoming Missional, recently released Reach; How to Use Your Social Media Influence for the Glory of God, and A Devotional Journey through Judges, a devotional to accompany the free online Bible study at TheBookofJudges.com. You can find her on facebook,twitter, pinterest and youtube.

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