A Nugget from New Life Network
Scripture for the Day (September 1, 2017)
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
When you think about some of the most powerful words in the Bible, what words come to your mind? Is it one of the famous three which are faith, hope, and love? Maybe you would add the word “Holy”. I personally would probably choose “love” but I would never have thought of including the word “nevertheless” in this list of possibilities until I heard a recent sermon by my Pastor.
Do you remember this account of Peter and his partners fishing all night and catching nothing?
And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: (Luke 5:1-9).
Have you ever had the Lord tell you, or urge you in some way, to do something that you did not want to do. It may have seemed silly or nonsensical. You may have argued with Him for days about it. Nevertheless, you did it anyway (finally) and then you understood why the Lord wanted you to do it. Maybe someone got saved, healed, or just comforted by your nevertheless.
Jesus was painting a picture for Peter and his fellow fishermen. This was a prophetic event for them and for us. Listen to what Jesus said afterwards:
And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him. (Luke 5:10-11)
Nevertheless is a powerful word that depicts a yielding to God’s ways and the releasing of our own ways. It is a doorway to faith in God versus faith in ourselves. It is a willingness to lay down all of our preconceived ideas. It is the beginning of walking by faith and not by sight. Nevertheless is a simple word that is more powerful than we ever knew! The following scripture depicts just how powerful it really is:
Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. (Matthew 26:38-39)
Our very salvation, and the salvation of all mankind, was dependent on this simple but powerful word, NEVERTHELESS!
