April 25, 2026 Devo

I’m currently doing a sermon series called “Deeper.” It’s a series based on Luke 5:1-11, where Jesus tells Simon Peter to take his boat out to deeper waters and let his net down for fish. I’m challenging our people to say “Yes” to the “deeper waters” God may have for them. One of the thoughts I spoke on Sunday before last was why God wants to take us to those deeper, more unfamiliar places—just like God expresses to us in our passage in Isaiah today. Can we unpack that a bit?
Sometimes God calls us to a “new path” that may be unfamiliar to us to push us to greater growth. Let’s get honest. It’s easy to become stagnant in our faith. Our Bible reading can become mundane. Worship can become predictable. Topics we’ve heard about before in Bible study groups can become boring. That’s why I think many of us would confess that our spiritual growth has become slight, if at all. But then God opens up a whole new opportunity to us. It’s a role we’ve never served in before. It’s a leadership responsibility we’ve never had to carry. Like taking on a new job in a whole new industry, we’re having to learn at an accelerated rate. Sometimes it’s like drinking from a fire hydrant. We grow like never before.
In a similar fashion, God leads us to new paths to learn to trust Him more. I remember when I was doing a restart with a church in PA years ago. Leading a congregation is a challenge in the BEST of scenarios. In church planting, EVERYTHING is a challenge! Finding a place to meet. Having people to help. Finding ways to reach out to the community, doing creative programming for all ages, and developing a quality worship experience. Oh yeah, and doing all that with NO MONEY! Going down unfamiliar paths makes you hit your knees, cry out to God, and depend on Him like you never have before. We always know we need God. But unfamiliar waters remind us how DESPERATELY we need Him!
Is God calling you to a new path? Does God seem to be nudging you toward a door that you feel terrified to open? Before you balk and walk away, make sure you pray it through. There may be lessons you’ll never learn any other way except on the new path God wants you on. Or it may be that God is calling you to another growth spurt in your relationship with Him. One that’s going to help you discover who He is and what He can do in ways that you never have before. That “unfamiliar” path may turn out to be UNBELIEVABLE! That’s God’s Word for you today.