At Thy Word

Dear brethren

Today's readings
Deuteronomy 1-3; Psalm 36; Luke 5

Luke 5:5 (KJV)
And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

Three simple words "at thy word" and yet within in encapsulates the essence of  being right before God.
Far too often, man thinks we are too clever and we think we know better and yet time and again, man has been proven wrong.
The exploits of the Israelites were recounted in Deuteronomy and especially we read of the incident of their defeat by the Amorites (the accounts in Num 14:40-46 records Amalekites and Canaanites. Canaanites is a general term describing the inhabitants in that area which includes the Amorites but nevertheless they were in the hill. Numbers give the further detail that the Amalekites joined them in battle).
The interesting thing was that they were seemingly so repentant and so eager to do God’s will, or so they think, by rushing into eliminating the enemy (Deu 1:40-44), but the fact of the matter is, they had acted only according to their own desires and not according to God’s will. They had acted “at their own word” and not “at thy word”.
Brethren, let us not be deceived - there can be no righteousness before God if it is not under God’s terms! No matter how right it may seem or how fervent we are, the greatest works, the greatest zeal is but nought if not done according to the will of God (c.f. Mat 7:21-23)
Let us continue to learn from the mistakes of the past and strive to always think and act “at thy word” and not at our own whims and fancies.