Cast Away, a lesson on change

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Day 4 - Cast Away, a lesson on change

I love throwing stuff away. It's an actual problem. One time I threw away a small pile of bills that Dave had set on the counter to pay. He was not very happy with me and several years down the road, my family still reminds me to “check first, throw away later.” Thank you, family. Thank you.

The idea of simplifying, as you can probably tell, then speaks to the inner me. What can we get rid of? What around me is piling up and creating internal anxiety seeping in from my external world? The question I am not so great at addressing is not what needs to go then, but what is God calling me to keep? We need to be aware of both of these questions before we begin casting away.

The two stories that comes to mind when I think of the word “casting” are as different as night and day, at first glance. I think they can help us begin to delve into these questions in our own life, what is God calling me to keep? What is God calling me to cast away? So keep those two questions in mind as you read below.

First, read Luke 4:31-37 -

And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching themon the Sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

Jesus calls us to cast the things out of our lives that are in opposition to Him. Jesus, himself, casted demons out of people, because he cared for them. As the body of believers, we have the difficult responsibility of helping one another identify and cast out the “demons” in our own lives. Addiction, selfishness, greed, lust, hatred, bitterness, slander, gossip, envy, hurtful words, discontent. This list is not exhaustive. The problem is very complex, this casing off with our neighbor, because we constantly also need to be doing this in our own life for any of our good intentions with one another to be heard. Verse 36, above, is not to be missed, “They were all amazed and said to one another, 'What is this word?'” What is this Word? Who is this Jesus that we have to share with one another that casts out the hurt and the wounding words, the resentfulness from our lives? When we testify about His Word to one another, this work of casting out is done together, in Him.

Second, let's read John 21:1-12 -

After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way.  Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together.  Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.  Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?”They answered him, “No.”  He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.  That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

 When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread.  Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.”  So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn.  Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.

Highlight or underline the word “cast” within this passage in your Bible.

Read those particular verses again.

This is an invitation to change something up.

The Hebrew word for cast away in Ecclesiastes 3:6b can also be translated to throw or to fling. It immediately brought to mind the men casting out those nets, throwing them into the water and continuously coming up with nothing. Hearts confused after Jesus's death and resurrection, searching for answers, and deciding to go back to the same ol', same ol'.

Many people have this experience in their walk of faith, in the searching. We know that we have a God who finds, who seeks us, but that doesn't stop us from casting our nets out into the world, searching, hoping, waiting, seeking. While that sounds negative, I don't believe that it necessarily has to be. God has placed that internal desire to seek and search in us, because we exist in this recepricol relationship with Him. We live as found people, able to move to the other side of the boat, to throw our nets of fear, and struggle, and doubt into other waters because He is the same God on both sides, and the same Jesus is waiting on the beach to rejoice with us over breakfast at the miraculous catch of His work in our lives.

Praise Jesus! Praise Him! Can you see the nets, stretched taunt with the fish of His faithfulness, His goodness. Be warned, that abundant catch may look a lot more like struggle from the world's perspective. Our catch that we await isn't necessarily a bigger house, or a brand new BFF that adds sunshine and joy to our daily lives. It might be, but in God's economy, it might also be a challenging new ministry opportunity, a new insight that causes us to change something that prunes us, or time spent on a relationship that takes time and energy.

How do we decide when something needs to be cast away or our nets cast into different waters?

We pray. We read His Word.

There is this therapeutic idea called “giving it space.” This is when something in life is pressing in, a decision, a relationship, a discussion. Sometimes we don't have an answer, a solution, and God calls us to wait. We can give it space, give it breathing room. We can pray and seek His word. We needn't press down on the issue and squeeze the life out of it, as I am so often guilty of. We can let it sit. God has is in His hands, and He will alert us when the time comes to cast away. And when that time comes, let's do it! Let's be faithful and strong in heart in the Lord.

In it together, sisters, whether in the waiting or in the casting away. In it together.  

Discussion questions:

Are you a keeper or do you easily throw things away?

What was something you have gotten rid of that you wish you would have kept?

When have you had to change something up in life, and it wasn't easy?

*All Scripture quotations are taken from the ESV translation.