“Weary” Obedience

Have you ever done what someone asked you to do even though you didn’t really want to, or didn’t think what they were asking you to do was going to work?   Yea, I thought so…we’ve all done this many times. It’s pretty much impossible to be enthusiastically obedient in everything.  Is it OK to have “weary obedience?”  I think so.  In Luke chapter 5, Jesus is just beginning His public ministry; not having called His disciples yet.  He gets into Peter’s boat and asks Peter to launch out so Jesus can teach the crowd from the boat on the water.  Then we read this: 4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”  5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.

Peter was tired. He hadn’t caught anything…he probably just wanted to go to bed. But Peter obeys the words of Jesus.  He wearily obeys them but he obeys them nonetheless.  And he gets a huge boatload of fish.  A few sentences later we read that Peter and others leave their boats behind and begin to follow Jesus.   I’m very glad that Jesus rewards “weary obedience”.  I am not always excited to follow Jesus.  Sometimes I don’t think it really is making a difference or I’m tired or I’m (fill in excuse here).  Ever been there?  Yea, I thought so…But Peter does obey and he sees Jesus’ supernatural power on display.  The key for us is to obey.   The key for us is to not allow our emotions or our physical state to get in the way of obeying Jesus.  Peter obeyed, wearily, and was blessed.  I don’t think Jesus has changed His way of working since then.