'When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.' (NIV)
Luke 5:5
'But Simon said, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at your word I will let down the net."'
In some quarters obedience is almost a dirty word, as it brings with it images of slavery and people not able to make decisions for themselves. But in the Bible, being ready to obey is the first step to completely free living. Let me explain: just as I will discuss about worship, it's not whether we worship, but who we worship (see day 10), so it's not about whether we obey, but who we obey! Here's a little quote from the Message version, Romans chapter 6:
'You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it's your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you've let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you've started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom!'
When Joseph woke up and decided to obey the angelic message he must, partly, have thought, "This'd better be God!" And Simon would've been exhausted from working all night - would you feel like letting those nets down again? However, it's all about believing that God knows a lot more than we do about stuff! In both cases the obedience was followed by abundant blessing: a miraculous baby, and so many fish that the net began to break under the weight.
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