Just Do It!

If you came here expecting to read about the goddess Nike, you’re in the wrong place! But, hang on, because we’re talking about the One True God: Jesus! Most of us have heard miraculous stories from the Bible where the Lord performed a spectacular work of provision. Although He certainly does work this way sometimes, it is possible for us to miss the supernatural because we are only expecting the spectacular. God will give us instructions to take actions that just seem too normal, so we dismiss them. Or, perhaps they aren’t necessarily difficult, but seem absolutely illogical! Maybe His guidance just seems beyond our abilities, or too hard, or might offend someone. However, when God gives you instruction to do something natural: just do it! By listening and obeying, God can add His super to your natural, and you can see supernatural results!

“Whatever He says to you, do it.” — John 2:5

Just Do It!

At the wedding in Cana, John 2:7-8 says, “Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the waterpots with water…Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.’ And they took it.” The servants literally dished out water to serve to the master of the feast! Yet, he told the Bridegroom, “You have kept the good wine until now!”

In Luke 5, Jesus commandeered Peter’s boat. He said, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Peter responded, “At Your word I will let down the net”. After Peter obeyed (albeit only halfway, since he only cast out one “net”), they caught so many fish, two boats began to sink!

One day, the conversation turned to whether paying taxes was right or wrong. Jesus told Peter to cast a hook into the sea and whichever fish he caught first would have a coin in its mouth to pay their taxes (Matthew 17:27). He gave Peter direction that, after Peter obeyed, brought provision.

In 2 Kings 4, a widow was deeply in debt. “…Elisha said…’Tell me, what do you have in the house?’ And she said…nothing…but a jar of oil.’” He told her to gather as many empty vessels from her neighbors as she could. After she and her sons had obeyed, the oil filled every vessel until there were none left. She sold the oil to pay off her debts, and she and her sons lived off of the rest.

Now consider when Jesus fed the 5000. He gave thanks for the little they had, and He blessed it. Then, He passed out twelve small portions to the disciples, and commanded them to feed the people. Miraculously, everyone ate until they were full, and there were 12 baskets full of leftovers!

Is It Worth It to Just Do It?

Consider each of these stories and the actions that the Lord instructed people to take. Sometimes when God tells us to do something, His instructions seem illogical, senseless, or even potentially downright embarrassing! However, Mary (Jesus’ mother) told the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” There is so much wisdom packed in that tiny verse! It’s very simple, yet when put into action can have absolutely supernatural results.

What if the servants at the wedding in Cana had laughed in Jesus’ face? How many of us would have the confidence, the boldness, the faith, to serve what we thought was water to the man in charge? The servants did a “crazy” thing, but it turned out to be a wonderful boon for the groom, who was likely their master. (It makes one wonder if those servants were paid a bonus or got a promotion—for nothing but faith and obedience to Jesus!)

Imagine if Peter had been all-in and thrown as many nets as he could into the water when Jesus told him to. But the instruction seemed an insane waste of time: they had fished all night and caught nothing, and now the sun was out—fish can’t be caught during the day! And he had just finished washing his nets—it would have been so inconvenient to cast all of them and then wash them again!

Jesus didn’t just snap His fingers and cause a coin to appear for Peter. He had to go fishing—for one fish! However, he decided, “I’ll just do it!” Do you think perhaps this could have been preparing him for the faith that enabled even his shadow to bring healing to those who were hurting?

What If?

What if the widow and her sons had only collected a few empty vessels? It’s almost certain their neighbors thought they were a bit crazy, knowing they had nothing! What if they had allowed the opinions of others to affect their level of obedience? Would there have been enough to pay off all of the debt? Maybe only one son would have been sold into slavery. Would the boys have escaped slavery, but not had enough to live off of?

What if the disciples had looked at the little bit Jesus had given to them, then looked at the crowd and said, “No way, Jesus! How embarrassing! We can’t start trying to hand out little morsels for people to eat!” Not only would the crowd have gone hungry, the disciples would have as well!

How often do we only halfway obey the Lord’s instructions? How often to objections like those keep us from acting? Now that we know how these stories ended, these concerns regarding dirty nets, illogical requests, or the opinions of others seem ridiculous, don’t they? Yet, every day the Lord gives us instructions that we might disregard because they seem illogical, or a waste of time, or foolish—they just don’t make sense! However, it is so important to just do it!

What’s in Your House?

When we are believing God to provide in the area of our finances, we often look for the spectacular results. Sometimes we are waiting for someone to feel led to give us a large amount of money, or to win the lottery. Perhaps we have heard how groceries showed up on someone’s doorstep, not knowing where they came from. We may have heard a testimony of someone getting their debts cancelled out of the blue, so we wait for the same.

But for now, what is in your house? What skills, experience, or talents do you have? Could you start your own service business or craft items to sell? Be obedient, take the first step, and God will add His super to your natural!