When You Have Nothing Left
It was the end of another long day. I was exhausted.
I had spent the day saying the same things over and over to my children. Constantly reminding them to be kind and helpful. To show love to each other. I felt like I wasn’t making any progress.
I whispered to the Lord, “When will they learn?”
I was reading through Luke 5 and came across the story of the great catch of fish. Simon Peter had been fishing all night without catching a single fish, however, when Jesus approached him the next morning, He tells Peter to go out deeper and cast his nets again.
“Master we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
-Luke 5:4 NIV
What was Simon thinking in this moment? Didn’t Jesus know they were at the point of exhaustion?
They had tried everything. They gave it all they had and came up empty handed.
I know these feelings. I’ve been there too. Each day I give my all. Each day I teach and train and guide my children. And yet I often feel like I haven’t made a difference. Yet Jesus asked Simon to trust Him and try again. How would you respond to that?
Can we reply as Simon did?
“Because You say so…”
Do we trust Jesus like that?
Simon didn’t know what was about to happen. He was tired and out of options. He had been doing the same thing all night. Would this even make a difference?
This is where Jesus steps in. When we have nothing left.
- Are we willing to trust Him in that moment?
- Can we make the choice to obey Him?
When we do, we see He is right there with us. He is ready and willing to renew our strength. All I needed to do was let Jesus in, wait on Him, trust Him, and stop trying to do everything in my own strength.
(Which, by the way, is extremely limited when raising four children at any time, let alone in the middle of a global pandemic.)
God was asking me to trust Him with the hearts of my children. To trust that He knows them best, He knows what they need, and He knows I need Him.
He didn’t ask me to go fishing, but He did ask me to keep going.
I am the Mumma that He chose for these precious ones and I need to lean on Him for wisdom and patience in the training of them.
In Philippians 4:19, Paul says that God will supply all my needs, according to His riches. So, when I have nothing left, He has everything I need.
I didn’t stop reading there though. Notice what happens next in the story.
After they catch such a great number of fish that their nets start breaking, Simon is obviously overwhelmed. Jesus, knowing this journey will take great faith. And knowing they will have to constantly walk in obedience and trust as they follow Him, speaks peace to Simon.
He says the words we hear repeated throughout the Gospels . . . “Do not be afraid.”
At that, Simon and the other fisherman gave up everything they knew to follow Jesus.
He speaks the same peace to us.
Trust Me, do not be afraid, I am with you.
He knows our journey of Motherhood will take great faith. He knows we cannot do it on our own. We will need to walk in obedience and trust Jesus daily. We need to remember that when we find ourselves with nothing, everything we need is always found in Him.
Did you find this encouraging? Then please share!
Meet the Author: I am a wife to my Handsome Hubby and Mumma to our four beautiful children. I love reading and writing and speaking about the truth and love of God. I am passionate about my relationship with Jesus and love doing this life with Him. I am in awe of the power of God’s Word and the revelation of His Truth to bring freedom and wholeness to our lives. I am on a journey to discover my identity as His Beloved and live from the truth of His Word, not the burden of this world. Follow Laura Jane Anslow on Facebook or Instagram!
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54 Comments
Donna Miller
Collene, what a beautiful post by Laura. I have to remember, too, that I need to come to the end of myself and that’s when Jesus can come in and strengthen me. He is definitely my help in time of need, my source of strength and my exeedingly great reward. Thank you for this beautiful post!
nopassingfancy
What a stunning piece of inspirational writing 🙂 Thank you for these reminders!
Sheryl Mendoza
Thank you for this encouraging post! I love this! I am reminded that when we have nothing left, God will and always provides more than we could ever dare to hope. Let’s continue to trust Him, even when we do not understand..
restandchaos
Glad you enjoyed it!
Evangeline Samuel
“I am the Mumma that He chose for these precious ones and I need to lean on Him for wisdom and patience in the training of them.”
You have no idea how many times I remind myself of this on a day-to-day basis. As mothers with children at home all day, it is easy for us to feel depleted at around 10 a.m. 😀
I am so glad I have a Father I can rely on and draw strength and assurance from. Thank you for this beautiful post.
restandchaos
Amen! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Rachel Mayew
Beyond grateful that God doesn’t ask me to parent (or anything else!) alone in my own strength. Thank you for this message of God providing exactly what we need!
restandchaos
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
kariminter
Love the reminder “When we do, we see He is right there with us. He is ready and willing to renew our strength.” AMEN!
restandchaos
Yep! That is a great reminder for us all!
Summer
“When I have nothing left”. I often feel this way! “Jesus is all I need.” Simon Peter’s story is so relevant for us mamas.
restandchaos
Yes, it is!
Teresa
Keeping on going simply because God said so is faith in action. Thank you for this reminder that God’s got this as I continue to seek to be the mother my adult children need me to be. Blessings! ?
restandchaos
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Kudabo Victory
When I am tired and all fagged out, Jesus steps in, that’s soothing and comforting. And I am so grateful to a God who is mindful of every detail of our lives, even seemingly unimportant ones.
Thanks for sharing this with us.
restandchaos
I agree! It is so great to have a God who cares about all the details!
ChristineWood
My children are now grown but I remember these days so clearly. God was faithful! He stood in the gap for me and gave me strength I didn’t have on my own to love my children. We can find strength in God when we have no strength of our own.
restandchaos
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
lindaswriting139996633
Such a great post! I really enjoyed reading this!
restandchaos
Amen!
Sandra Black
Yes I am so thankful that when I can’t do anything Jesus steps in. He can always do the right thing.
restandchaos
Amen!
Kristie
Such a beautiful post. Our loyalty is proven in trusting God when we have nothing.
restandchaos
Amen!
Onething.blog
it is really encouraging to know that when we are right at that moment of giving up, God steps in and encourages us, renews our strength and helps us to continue. Thanks for the reminder!
restandchaos
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Pam Morrison
This guest post was so perfect for your site. I loved the comparison to Peter – “throw out your net one more time.” If we’ll say, “Yes, Lord,” He is so faithful to help us.
restandchaos
Amen!
Heather Gillis
I love how Jesus asks us to do what we’ve been doing, ‘one more time,’ even when we’re tired and weary. In those moments we know when the miracle of what we’ve been asking for can only be from HIM.
restandchaos
Amen to that!
Carla
When we are weary, it is so easy to forget that the source of our strength comes from God. I was reading this very same passage during a difficult time in my life when God quietly spoke to me: “Keep casting your nets.” We are not responsible for the results (that is God’s job!), but we can control how we respond to God’s command. Great post!
restandchaos
Yes! It can be so hard to remember that the results aren’t up to us. We have to trust God with those!
Yvonne Morgan
I love the comment “When I have nothing left, Jesus is all I need.” So much truth in this statement. That gives me so much comfort. Thanks for sharing.
restandchaos
Yep! ?
Sacha
Very encouraging post. Our strength comes from God. For example, when David killed Goliath, it was through the strength of God that allowed that to happen!
restandchaos
Amen!
Rose Ward
“He tells Peter to go out deeper and cast his nets again.” This struck a cord with me today (also have four kiddos) and this post hit home today. I thought about this line the entire time I was reading… go out deeper and cast nets again…To keep going even when the results are not immediate…to keep trusting…keep in Jesus. Beautiful post. Thank you.
restandchaos
Yep. That was the line that got me as well. Such a good message for us moms!
Anonymous
First allow me to say I love your writing style. Very easy to read, follow and understand. I also love this reminder to trust God. This is been such a trying season for us all I think, so it’s very timely. As a mom, I really appreciated your admonition to trust the hearts of our children to God. Great post!
restandchaos
So glad you enjoyed this. Laura is a great writer and her insights are great!
Mary Rooney Armand
Trusting God is so hard sometimes, especially when things are not going our way. Thanks for sharing this scripture and promise with us.
restandchaos
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Shannan Cloud
I love this post and enjoyed your style of writing. Your website in general reminds me that life really is a “both/and” type thing….. rest AND chaos! All too often we think things have to be one or the other. It so. Glad to read your work!
restandchaos
Glad you enjoyed it! And yes, life really is a “both/and” thing, not one or the other. It is a crazy mixture. ?
My Life in Our Father's World
It can be hard to remember at times that He is really all we need!!
restandchaos
Yep! ?
Warren Richards
Indeed! His love is faithful, His love is strength, His love… EVERYTHING! God’s blessings!
restandchaos
AMEN!
herrychiccounsels
Yes ma’am. All we can ever need to succeed in all He has called us to do, lies in Him. ?
restandchaos
Amen!
Donna Miller
I love this post and I want to be obedient to the Lord like Peter was, even when it doesn’t make sense how everything will work out.
restandchaos
Amen! That is what I want as well. To trust Him even when I don’t understand. Thanks for sharing!
kariminter
Such a great post! Love how you related it to our own children and I definitely needed to be reminded to find my strength in God alone!
restandchaos
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!