Launching Deeper

By Janet Morris Grimes –

We know what to do. We rely on our training and experience. We follow the rules, demonstrating proper protocol while banking on an expected result. But many times, our knocks on the doors of opportunity go unanswered, leaving us frustrated and searching for answers.

What happens when we do everything right but still have nothing to show for it?

Jesus had an unexpected answer for this dilemma. Technically, most of His answers were the opposite of what many thought they might hear.

Peter and his crew spent the night fishing. It is what they knew. They were the experts, and for whatever reason, the fish were not biting, even though all the proper procedures and techniques had been followed. The fishermen were exhausted, and were in the process of washing their nets to hang them to dry in defeat, for that day at least.

Jesus watched from a distance before using one of the vacant boats to speak to a crowd that had gathered around him.

He then said this to Peter, as captured in Luke 5:4 (NIV), “Launch out into the deep, and prepare your nets for a catch.”

Peter may not have agreed with that advice, but he knew enough about Jesus to listen. Perhaps Peter was trying to prove Him wrong. Perhaps he reacted out of gratitude for the fact that Jesus had already raised Peter’s own mother-in-law from the dead a short time earlier. Perhaps Peter was willing to follow through simply so he could spend more time alone with Jesus. Whatever the reason, his response is noteworthy.

“Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But, because you say so, I will let down the nets” (Luke 5:5 NIV).

Peter did not understand what Jesus suggested, but he followed anyway. The result was that Peter’s net became so full that he had to call in the back up boat for assistance. Soon, both boats were beginning to sink because of the great number of fish inside them.

The lesson is simple. Sometimes, Jesus tells us to launch deeper. Even if we are at our wit’s end. Even if we are out of ideas. Even if it makes no logical sense to do so. Even if Satan reminds us of past failures from the last time we tried to go deeper. Even if the economy is bad. Even if we struggle to find a job. Even if we wonder what we are accomplishing. Even if the world is going in the opposite direction.

What matters is that we learn to follow. To launch deeper, past the point of no return. Launching deeper means we can no longer see the shore. It requires us to depend on more than our own bearings, to change our course of action, along with our direction.

Going deeper usually demands that we do the opposite of what comes naturally.

And maybe that was the point of it all. Jesus had a way of going against the grain. He loves it when we have no choice but to trust Him, and Him alone. When we are literally in over our heads, only he can lift us higher.

And when He says to prepare our empty nets for a catch? Get ready, because the impossible and unexplainable will soon follow.

The Kid with the Loaves and the Fishes

By Janet Morris Grimes –

Even the occasional church-goer is familiar with this story. Mentioned in all four gospels, Jesus, distraught over the news that his cousin, John the Baptist, had been beheaded because of his beliefs, sought solace in a quiet place. He and his apostles boarded a boat to head across the Sea of Galilee, but the people, aware of his recent miracles, followed on foot, meeting him on the other side.

Jesus healed the sick among the vast crowd, then settled them down on the grass to teach them many things. After time, the crowd grew hungry, and the apostles advised Jesus to send them away, calculating that it would take six months’ wages to feed them all.

Jesus asked how much food they had available to them and received this answer from Andrew, “There is a boy here who has five loaves and two fishes, but what is the good of that for such a crowd?” (John 6:8).

Of course, Jesus proceeds to thank God, break the bread, and distribute it to the 5,000 men gathered there. The actual number fed that day is most likely closer to 15,000, taking into account the women and children. When all was said and done, they gathered up 12 baskets of leftovers, after the entire crowd had eaten to their satisfaction.

John is the only one to mention the source for the five barley loaves and two small fishes—a lad, a small boy.

As many times as I’ve read that story, I finally recognized the true hero, other than Jesus himself. The lad. We know very little about him, but we can gather these five things:
1) He heard the news.
2) He traveled alone.
3) He came prepared, ready to stay awhile.
4) He followed.
5) He offered all that he had to Jesus, and became an integral part of a famous miracle because of it.

The boy was there for a reason. I assume he traveled alone, that his mother prepared the lunch for him knowing he would be gone most of the day. He was willing to stay as long as possible, just to be close to Jesus. He answered the call for help, even though what he had to offer was miniscule compared to what they actually needed.

The first inclination for most would be to squander what they had, keeping it for themselves, maybe hiding behind a tree to eat it before it was discovered by the hungry masses. But this kid was willing to share, even if it meant he would go hungry. He could have easily saved it for the trip home, avoiding the eyes of the apostles as they searched for food.

I also imagine the crowd was getting restless, cranky and complaining because of the break in the action as Jesus spoke privately with his apostles about the problem. Most kids were probably whining, wondering when they could return home to their sand lot ballgames.

But not this kid. He brought all that he had to offer and laid it on the table before Jesus.

That is my goal for today—to be the kid with the loaves and the fishes. I want to go wherever Jesus happens to be, splaying down my meager offerings before Him, and then watching in amazement to see what He can do with them.

I can see this kid running home at full speed, empty lunch pail banging into his knees, saying “Mom, you just aren’t going to believe this…”

Spiritual Anorexia

By Janet Morris Grimes –

For some reason we take it all for granted. We find a few choice verses from the Bible and use them as a moniker for our lives, a slogan of sorts. We pray for guidance and hope that it brings with it a continual shower of blessings. We attend church, yearning to be fed, motivated and fired up to make a difference in the lives of others.

But no sooner do we walk out of the church building do we realize that something is missing. We are.

You can’t expect to unleash the power of God in your daily life by showing up once a week. He created us to need more than this. There will always be a void in our lives until we learn to seek Him continually. Daily. Moment by moment.

Imagine a husband-wife relationship where they elected to spend time together once a week, but then went on about their business as if they were single until their next appointed time to be together. There is no way this relationship could work without the commitment of time, energy and an investment into each other.

Imagine a parent-child relationship where the parent met on Sundays with the child and attempted to provide everything they would need for the following week. Food, clothing, safety instructions, hygiene, love and help with homework. None of this can be accomplished in advance. The journey is constant; and the needs are fresh each day.

The same is true for our relationship with God, and the problem is that spiritually, we are starving ourselves.

We would never consider going a week without food. On the contrary, we train ourselves to eat at predetermined times; sometimes even eating before we are actually hungry because we have grown accustomed to eating, no matter what.

The same should be true for our spiritual journeys. God had a new message for us each and every day. If we allow Him to do so, He will give us enough meat to chew on for that particular day, using it to propel us down the path carved out for us. He is always ready to listen to us, but we rarely take the time to return the favor.

He intended for us to eat daily. Not weekly, monthly or on special occasions. He created our thirst and hunger, both spiritually and physically, and we will never be satisfied or reach our full potential until we recognize that hunger, filling it with the perfect love that only He can provide.

When the Israelites were following Moses throughout the wilderness, on their journey to the Promised Land, God proved his desire to feed them daily by sending manna. In Numbers 11:9 – it says, “when the dew settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down.”

However, manna was only good for that particular day. If the people tried to save it for later, other than on the day of Sabbath, it rotted and turned disgusting.

God taught His people to feed themselves daily, and to seek Him in the process. Moment by moment, in a beautiful blend of dependence and discipline.

What we have to realize, as Christians, is that Satan will do everything in his power to keep our Bibles closed.

You see, he loves it when we starve ourselves.

Luke 11:3 – “Give us each day our daily bread.”

Stealing the Romance

By Janet Morris Grimes –

Sometimes I feel almost guilty for it.

Shouldn’t the promise of heaven be enough to satisfy me? After all, I know how my love story ends: with me riding into the sunset with my Prince, dancing over the hidden threshold into happily ever after. Read more

Beauty

By Janet Morris Grimes –

Beauty. Magazine covers scream its requirements from shallow pages, taunting us with the latest version of retouched perfection. The images offer a million different ways to chase the unattainable, oversimplifying the five simple steps to longer, fuller, lighter, whiter, and smoother.

Thankfully, I never belonged in that world. Disappointed with the lack of any true freckle remover as I grew up, my naked face and overweight eyebrows approached life as-is, with occasional tweaking for special occasions. If true beauty required hours of prep work, we were less than interested.

For this reason, I doubt I will ever be what the world considers “beautiful.”

Sigh.

I gladly relinquish that title, and the responsibility that goes with it.
For what I do know is that the moments I have felt the most beautiful are those where mirrors do not exist.

Sitting in silence on a beach as the sun whispers “good night,” offering one last wink and a kiss before bedtime, I feel beautiful.

Sleeping upright on the couch with my infant son asleep on my chest and running my fingers through his curly hair, I feel beautiful. To him at least.

Covered in a moving cloud of flour from head to toe while preparing a meal for those I love the most, I feel beautiful.

Taking communion while kneeling at the cross, as if Jesus and I are the only ones in the room, I feel beautiful.

Walking hand in hand with my daughters as they reveal their concerns about life in a maddening pace of words, I feel beautiful, and pray that they do the same.

Hearing my sister’s far away voice say before she hangs up the phone,
“Hurry home. I’m not me without you.” I feel beautiful.

Finding a way to give a surprise gift to others, especially when they do not realize it is from me, I feel beautiful.

Splashing and dancing in the rain with my husband, I feel beautiful.
Digging deep enough to write words that make others cry, I feel beautiful.
I guess true beauty, for me, has much more to do with what boils over on the inside than what you see on the outside.

And if I had to choose between the two?

Feeling beautiful is much more rewarding than chasing down fleeting images through a distorted hall of mirrors, for mirrors never reveal what truly matters most.

Mirror, Mirror, on the wall?

Stay right where you are.

My search for beauty leads elsewhere.

I Peter 3:3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.

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