‘Yes-men’ have a bad reputation. They are believed to be gutless, afraid to stand up for their rights and are defined as ‘someone who tries to please others in order to have personal gain’. ‘Yes-men’ are despised by many with more ‘backbone’. My online thesaurus describes a ‘yes-man’ as person of unquestioning obedience. They are a follower (someone who accepts the leadership of another) and a pushover (someone who is easily taken advantage of). Yet, in Luke 5:1-7, there is a story told about Simon. He had fished all night and had caught nothing. He was a fisherman by trade and knew the Sea of Galilee like the back of his hand. It had been one of those days and the fish weren’t biting. Then, along came Jesus. As he was teaching the crowd at the lake, He said to Simon, “Let out your nets for a catch.” Many would have said, “Look, I’m the fisherman here and I’ve worked hard all night. The fish aren’t biting. You are a carpenter. Maybe you should stick to what you know!” But 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.” When he did, there were so many fish that the nets began to break and he needed help from others to bring them in. God rewarded his obedience. What about you? Are you a yes-man? Do you obey just because God says so? How do you respond when Jesus asks you to do something hard? Is there something in your life that you feel God wants you to give up? Are you asking questions or debating with him? In our hearts, we want to be obedient. We want vibrant relationships with him that grow daily; ones in which we hear his voice and know his will for our lives. Yet, are we willing to spend the time with him one on one to get to that place? Are we willing to turn away from the sin that we habitually fall in to? I want to be a ‘yes-man’. I don’t have to understand how something will turn out, or why I am called to do something. A real follower of Jesus just obeys. Sometimes we have to just put aside our own agenda, our own fears, or our lack of understanding, and just obey Just think how God would bless our lives if we obeyed just ‘because He said so’. There is a whole lake out there full of beautifully colored fish that He wants to bless us with. There are so many, that we might just need
help counting our blessings. Let’s step out in faith and just obey.