"As He was walking along the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. Then Jesus said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.' Immediately, they left their nets and followed Him. Going a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee and his brother John, in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay, He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed Him" (Mark 1:16-20*).
When the Lord Jesus met Simon and Andrew, the brothers were not exceptional saints. The same applies to James and John. They were all ordinary fishermen, men who, along with many others, listened to the Lord's teachings. What set them apart was their faith to leave behind their old way of life and embrace a new one.
Mark likes to use the word "immediately." In this gospel, he writes that the brothers immediately left their nets and followed Christ. We may not grasp the magnitude of this decision. They abandoned their business—their source of income—but that was just the beginning. They spent more than three years in discipleship, away from home, family, comfort, and safety. They responded to Christ's call with faith that was needed not only to believe but also to act.
Perhaps we are not called to such a radical change. Yet, we are not much different from the disciples. When the Lord Jesus invites us to follow Him, we must let go of anything hindering our trust in Him. In other words, we need to be ready to leave our own "nets," be it work, home, comfort, or success, when the Lord asks us to. What is needed to have such faith?
Link to the original article: https://www.intouchuk.org/read/daily-devotions/faith-to-leave
* Bible quotes are from the Bible, a new translation from the original languages © Bulgarian Bible Society 2013