The Quest Costs

**Sit quietly, eyes closed, in silence for one minute before reading.**

“Their quest had been worth all the pains it cost.” Jill from The Silver Chair, The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis

    No one can avoid pain. No one will go through life without hurt. We all have been hurt, are hurt and will hurt. Pain is costly and can be brutal, wounding us deeply and challenging us to the end of ourselves.

    Upon finishing The Silver Chair in The Chronicles of Narnia series the line quoted above resonated in my heart. The quest to find the Prince had its pains, both physical and emotional. The quest was not faultless and actually had more errors than not. There were many unknowns in the quest. Yet at the end of the quest, Jill sees the people and animals of Narnia celebrating the Prince found and returned and thinks to herself their quest had been worth all the pains it cost.

    My prayer is that you would find encouragement in the quest. Our quest to follow Jesus, to become more and more like Him and live out the life He has called us to live is a grand quest guaranteed to be filled with pain. As you and I follow Him, may we be reminded that at the end of our quest, it will have been worth all the pains it cost.

**Sit in silence again for as long as is available to you.**

Because You Say So

**Sit quietly, eyes closed in silence for one minute before reading.**

Simon answered, “Master, we worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” Luke 5:5 (New International Version)

    Reading through the book of Luke, the story of Jesus and Simon in Luke 5:1-11 has haunted me. In particular, Simon’s statement, “Because you say so” really gets to me.

    Within the passage, Simon and the other fisherman have put all their effort and time into something for which they are experts and nothing is produced. For any of us, when we put time, resources, and strength into an effort we’re supposed to be good at we expect results (and some of us are only satisfied with excellent results). To have no results can be a great source of discouragement and frustration.

    So when Jesus says to Simon and his fellow fisherman to go out to the deep water and put down your nets we don’t know what is going on in Simon’s mind and heart, we just read his response: “Okay master, we’ve put in all our efforts with no results but because you say so, I will.”  For some reason Simon decides that Jesus’ command is worth following. He respects and submits to Jesus’ command. Jesus’ command contradicts Simon’s history, experience and expertise, yet Simon is willing to do what Jesus asks. Because you say so.

    My prayer would be that I would have a heart that would respond with “because you say so.” My prayer is the same for you. As we navigate life, grow in relationship with Jesus, may our trust in Him increase so that we respond more and more with “because you say so.”

**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**