Unconditional Obedience

"But Simon answered and said to Him Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down my net" (Luke 5:5)

Would you like to know the secrets to overwhelming blessing and favor beyond your wildest expectations? Of course we all would. The reality, however, is that this "secret" is not really a secret at all but a well-known principle that we know but struggle with its application. This principle is called unconditional obedience. We have all heard of obedience, which is defined as listening with a desire to act. True obedience is about submission; it is the act of completely yielding oneself to the person giving the instruction. It is about rejecting our will and embracing His will. Unconditional obedience takes it a step further; it is not just completely submitting our will to the will of God but it is doing so without reservations. Unconditional obedience is listening with the desire to act without reservations.

This principle is demonstrated in the first encounter between Peter and Jesus. After Peter allowed Jesus to use his boat to preach the Gospel, Jesus, in his desire to bless Peter, instructed him to "launch out his net in the deep". Peter, a professional fisherman, had been fishing all night without success but his response to Jesus was that at His Word he would let down his net.

Though Peter was not certain of the outcome of his action, he unconditionally obeyed the Master and as a result he was extremely blessed beyond measure. He caught so many fish that day that he needed help to pull the net out of the water and the net even broke. This demonstrates that Peter had never caught that many fish in his professional career and had not planned on it, because if he had, he would have had a stronger net to handle such a harvest.

How long have you been toiling without real success? Fortunately we are at a time when the fate of our economy has been removed and we are all facing the real consequences of our actions. Our disobedience and inefficiencies can no longer be hidden in the abundance of the economy because it has been exposed by the current crises.

Like Peter you have recognized Jesus as Savior of your life. However, it is time to recognize him as Lord. You trusted Him with a part of your assets but it is time to trust him with all of your assets, including your profit centers. It was easy for Peter to let Jesus use his boat since this act did not impact his profit center. Taking operational advice from Jesus would impact his profit center; it was recognizing Jesus' Lordship over everything he had. What does a rabbi know about fishing? What does the Bible really have to say about business?

Peter obeyed Jesus unconditionally even though he did not know what the outcome would be. Will you turn everything to him? Will you obey Him unconditionally? Will you allow your business, your life and everything you do to be guided by the Bible? Of course your outcome may not be like that of Peter where he experienced immediate blessings. It may be like Daniel's, where His unconditional obedience led him into the lion's den or like Joseph, where his unconditional obedience led him to prison. Whatever challenges you may face as a result of your unconditional obedience will be nothing compared to the surpassing weight of Glory that awaits you. So go ahead and obey Him unconditionally and watch Him perform a miracle in your life and in your business.

Copyright © 2009 Patrice Tsague ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.