A spiritual devotion on Luke 5
Luke 5 is a chapter of holy disruption. Jesus steps into ordinary lives—fishermen at their nets, a leper in their suffering, a paralyzed person on their mat, a tax collector at their table—and calls them into something entirely new. This isn’t just about individual transformation; it’s about the in-breaking reign of God, overturning expectations, and redefining what it means to live faithfully.
When I’m most comfortable, the Spirit calls me to follow Jesus, disrupting my complacency, comfort, and ease. I may be in a professionally rewarding job, living in a city and house I’d never want to give up, or sitting in a church community I call home. None of those things are bad. But suddenly, the Spirit disrupts my comfort and calls me to follow Jesus where he leads.
Discipleship is costly.
God’s call is surprising.
And God’s love and grace will carry us through the disruption, change, and costs that following Jesus often entails. But there is nothing more fulfilling than letting go of our old and settled lives and following Jesus wherever he leads.
The miraculous catch of fish shows that Jesus provides more than we can imagine, but it’s not the abundance of fish that matters—it’s the willingness to leave it behind. Peter, James, and John walk away from their greatest professional success because they’ve encountered something greater. The healed leper and the paralyzed person find more than physical restoration; they find the freedom of forgiveness. Levi, the tax collector, leaves wealth and security to host a banquet of grace, inviting outcasts to meet the One who calls sinners to repentance.
This chapter exposes the smallness of our trust and the bigness of Jesus’s call. It challenges us to abandon comfort for discipleship, trade self-reliance for faith, and seek healing deeper than skin and success richer than wealth. This is the way of the gospel—a life of radical mercy, humility, and witness. It means leaving behind whatever binds us, whether fear, sin, pride, or complacency, and stepping into the abundant, risk-filled, joy-soaked life of following Jesus.
Big Idea: Jesus calls us to leave behind what holds us and step into the radical, transformative life of following and witnessing to God’s kingdom.
Reflection: What is Jesus calling you to leave behind so you can follow more fully? How is your life bearing witness to the mercy and justice of God?
Prayer: Holy One, disrupt my comfort, shake my complacency, and draw me into deeper trust. Teach me to let go of what holds me back and step into the fullness of life in you. I struggle with fear and anxiety. I’m tempted by complacency and comfort. My heart often wants to go its own way and be the master of its own destiny. But I choose to follow you. I commit to leaving my old, comfortable, settled life behind. I’m entirely yours. You are my Lord and master, and where you lead me, I will follow. May my words and actions bear witness to your love and grace. Amen.
Graham Joseph Hill is the Mission Catalyst – Church Planting and Missional Renewal for Uniting Mission and Education. You can read his Blog here and his Substack here.
Photo by Jonathan Zerger from Unsplash
