Help Me See

by Suzie Eller | | 5 comments

Friend to Friend

I rested on the concrete driveway with two sweet boys, staring into the inky night sky. As we talked, I asked them to look up and describe what they could see.

“I see the dark,” one replied.

“A star,” said another, pointing to a lone star at a distance.

I pulled out my phone and opened an app. As I pointed my phone at the night sky, constellations appeared on the screen. The boys excitedly took turns holding my phone this way and that, calling out the names of the constellations and planets. When I shut the app and put my phone in my pocket, one slid his hand in mine and looked into the dark sky.

“Whoa, Gaga, to think that they were there the whole time.”

In Luke 5, we see an encounter between Jesus and an exhausted fisherman named Simon. Simon’s been fishing all night with no success. The conditions just aren’t right. Finally, he pulls in the heavy net and heads for shore. That’s when Jesus calls out to him. He asks Simon to put the nets back in the water.

Simon hesitates.

Putting the nets back in the water makes no sense, not to this fisherman of many years. Surely if there were fish, he would have already caught them. However, Simon chooses to obey. When he dips the nets into the water, suddenly they are full. His net nearly breaks under the number of fish. Simon turns to Jesus, overwhelmed.

“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” Luke 5:8-9 (NIV).

Simon was in awe of the fish but more so of Jesus.

Jesus saw what Simon could not.

Like Simon, there have been times I sensed God asking me to throw out my “net” one more time, and I’ve hesitated. In the natural it doesn’t make sense. I’ve prayed. I’ve already tried. My spiritual bones are aching. Trying one more time, when all I can see is darkness, is hard.

When we say yes in those moments it is a beautiful act of trust.

It’s believing that God sees our prayers working in ways we can’t imagine. It’s trusting that God sees the battle we are in, and that He’s fighting on our behalf. It’s understanding that God sees beyond the darkness to the miracles already taking place.

Are you struggling to “see” right now? If so, you are not alone. Yet throwing out your net one more time, as God leads, is powerful. You move from standing on what you can’t see to partnering in what God Himself has already seen.

My prayer is that, like the little guy lying beside me on the driveway, one day you’ll look on in wonder to say, “Whoa, to think that was there the whole time.”

Let’s Pray

Jesus, I know what I feel. I know what I can see. If You ask me to throw out my “net” one more time, I’ll do it. I trust that You see what I cannot, Thank You for hearing my prayers, every one of them. Thank You for the miracles that You already see,
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn

If you sense God asking you to throw out your “net” one more time, what might that look like in practical terms?

• Trust listens (to the Holy Spirit inside us)
• Trust obeys (what is God asking you to do?)
• Trust moves (you take one step, as He leads)

More from the Girlfriends

In Suzie’s book, Spirit-Led Heart, she shares how to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, right where you are, whether you are in a good season or a harder season.

A gift for you – It can feel challenging to know what is truth and what is not.

Download a free “God Replaces Lies with Truth” printable. This resource from Suzie helps you discern the voice of truth from a half-truth or lie of discouragement. Download here.

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© 2022 by Suzanne Eller. All rights reserved.