sokin's devotional 8

"...so he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy."

2 kings 5:14

"...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...when Simon Peter say this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, 'Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!'."

Luke 5:4-8

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God often works in the unexpected realms. He doesn't move how we want, nor does he operate in the way that we often expect.

So often, we may try to predict how God will work in our lives -

how He will provide finances...

how He will bring healing upon the afflicted...

how He will respond to our prayers...

But I think more often, while we may understand and know God's will more as we get to know Him, I think the Word points us to the fact that our needs aren't always met in the way we expect them to.

Naaman at first rejected Elisha's direction to wash himself in the Jordan seven times. He even surmised that the rivers he was used to seeing back at home were probably far better to bathe in. (1 Kings 5:12)

But upon surrendering, he finally dipped himself in the Jordan and was healed of his leprosy. This caused him to worship the true and living God.

Similarly, Jesus tells the disciples to let down their nets at the most inopportune time of the day. Even Simon Peter says (a bit sarcastically and reluctantly I imagine), "right Jesus... being that we have been lifelong fisherman and we ONLY worked all night already and caught nothing... but because YOU say so...I will let down the nets..." (my translation).

and what happens?

They catch so much fish that they bring over another boat. And even still, there's so much fish that both boats start sinking.

Friends, our prayers and desires may not always be answered in the way we want or even like. But at the end of the day, we must always come to the realization that His leadership is absolutely, positively perfect and full of love.

We can only surrender, obey, and trust in this truth. So that even while we may end up washing ourselves in a river when we know of better ones, or when we are asked to cast out our nets in the worst time of day...God will allow his sometimes unexpected solutions to unravel itself in our lives.