“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” Luke 5:5 NLT

 Have you ever missed a message from a good friend? Sometimes the days get so busy that I don’t check my messages, or I miss a phone call from someone I really want to hear from. Does that ever happen to you? It’s easy to get caught up in our everyday life and miss what’s really important, isn’t it?

Jesus showed up in Peter’s everyday life. After a normal night of regular employment, Peter didn’t know what would happen when he said YES to Jesus and cast his net.  But that YES completely changed his direction. Peter desired something different after he said YES to Jesus. And he left the familiar seaside village, people, and nets to pursue it.

I didn’t know how my life would change when I said YES to Jesus all those years ago (more years than I’d like to admit!), but the trajectory of my life completely changed. Where I wanted to go was altered by my YES.

Do you notice how Jesus is showing up in your everyday life? How might He be inviting you to follow Him today? How might your direction change if you say YES to that invitation?

 Jesus will meet you in the familiar. It was an ordinary day for Peter and his business partners. They were simply living their routine and Jesus showed up in their boat. That changed everything.

Are you looking for God to show up in your ordinary days? Answering the phone at your desk? Gathering your mail from the mailbox? Getting the kids off to school? Are you looking for how Jesus may be inviting you to engage with your coworker or neighbor? What would happen if you began to keep your eyes and ears open for Jesus in your ordinary days?

Jesus will ask you to do familiar things in unfamiliar ways. Peter was a professional fisherman, and he knew the drill. The fish come out at night, not during the day.  What did Peter expect to happen when he threw out his net because Jesus said so? NOTHING! Peter simply said YES to doing something he had done thousands of times at night during the day.

What did Peter risk to throw out his net? NOTHING! Maybe he risked looking foolish and risked wasting some time, but it cost him nothing but effort to do what Jesus asked. And what return did he expect? None.

What happened when Peter obeyed God with no faith and no risk? A MIRACLE that everyone around could recognize and experience.

What miracle might Jesus do if you obeyed God with little risk and no expectation?

What are you already experienced in? What are you already good at? That may be the thing God is asking you to do in a new way for His glory, to participate in His mission on the earth.

God will invite you to step outside the familiar and join Him on mission. After the miracle of fish that is exactly what the disciples were willing to do. They left everything and followed Jesus. Will you?

When you say YES to stepping beyond the borders of familiarity your faith will grow. Your experience within familiar borders will build faith to follow Him outside those fences. Once you say YES and meet God in familiar circumstances, He will ask you to follow Him outside the familiar.

 Dear Friend, when God asks you to obey him, He is giving you the opportunity to participate in His work on the earth. If you will say YES to God, He will take you places you never expected to go and enable you to do things you never expected to do so that you can fulfill divine potential and participate in accomplishing His mission on the earth. He will do more in you than you ever expected and more through you than you ever imagined.

My life and yours is an accumulation of our responses to God in our ordinary days. What might God do in and through you if you decide in advance to look for Jesus in the ordinary and say YES?

Key Question: Where is Jesus showing up in your everyday life?

A Scripture to Consider: “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” Luke 5:5 NLT

A YES Challenge: Set a timer for 10 minutes and sit in silence with Jesus. What rises to the top during that time? How is Jesus inviting you to say YES to Him today?

Prayer: Jesus, I don’t want to miss Your invitations. I don’t want to be so caught up in my familiar everyday that I don’t hear your invitation to follow. You have new things for me to do and new places for me to go. You want to show up in my regular routines and do something different in me and through me. Help me to keep my heart open so that I recognize you. Lead me into a deeper fulfillment of Your purpose for me. Amen.