As the disciples were commanded by our Lord to do something that didn’t quite make sense, they stretch out their faith in His Word: “for a catch” (v. 4). This is the kind of faith Hannah confess in her journal entry June 6, 1868. Perhaps his devotion from The Christian’s Secret of a Holy Life: The Unpublished Personal Writings of Hannah Whitall Smith will touch your soul and as it has mine.
Naked Faith in the Naked Word
April 29
“I have felt my soul stirred up again this evening to trust the Lord Jesus for His full salvation with a naked faith, and have covenanted with Him to have that kind of trust, even if He should never manifest His presence to my soul by any sign or token. His bare word is enough for me, and I will trust Him not to let me be deceived about it. This has been my great fear—that my faith might prove to be only an intellectual faith, and therefore would fail to actually grasp the promised blessings. But I have cast myself upon Jesus for my faith, as well as all else, and do trust Him to give me a real and living faith of His own power, and I must believe that He does.
“In the very most effectual way that I can, I do present myself to Him as a living sacrifice and I do believe that He receives me. I ask Him to sanctify me wholly, and I do believe that He does do it. I trust Him to preserve my soul, body, and spirit blameless until His coming, and I do believe that He will do it. And this confidence I will hold fast until I die, trusting to my mighty Saviour to keep me steadfast in it, even though no other proof than the naked word of God is ever granted me.”
—Journal, Evening, June 6, 1868 [Source: Smith, H. W., & Dieter, M. E. (1997). The Christian’s secret of a holy life: the unpublished personal writings of Hannah Whitall Smith. Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.]
Main Text— Luke 5:4–5 (NIV84)— 4 When [Jesus] had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.”
Additional Scriptures to Renew Your Thoughts
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.—(Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV)
Without having seen Him, you love Him. Without seeing Him now, but trusting in Him, you continue to be full of joy that is glorious beyond words.—1 Peter 1:8 (CJB)
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.— 2 Corinthians 4:16–18 (NIV84)
Heavenly Father, forgive me for focusing too much on the things that are seen. Stretch my faith-vision to see what is unseen as I fix my eyes on Jesus. In Your Name, Amen.
Pastor Mike