Do you ever feel invisible to God? You pray and pray, then pray some more, but you don’t get
the answers you’ve been seeking? It’s easy to grow weary, coming up with nothing but
unanswered prayers. Financial difficulties, an illness, broken relationships or a child that has
gotten off course can lead to feelings of emptiness and doubt. Sometimes it seems as if there is
no end to the turmoil. Where are you God? Do you hear my prayers? I’ve found myself asking
these questions on more than one occasion.

I love the story found in Luke chapter 5. After performing public miracles, Jesus was being
followed by a crowd alongside the Sea of Galilee. As He was being pursued, He saw the empty
boat of Simon [Peter], a fisherman, who had been unsuccessfully fishing all night. His boat was
completely empty and likely his spirits too. The Scripture says Jesus “saw at the water’s edge
two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets” (Luke 5:2). I love that even
though Simon had come up empty, Jesus still saw him right where he was – in all his emptiness
and frustration. Jesus was there with His eye on Simon. But what’s even more powerful is what
comes next in the text: “Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put
out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat” (Luke 5:3). The
Message puts it this way: “Using the boat for a pulpit, he taught the crowd”. Did you catch that?
Jesus used Simon’s empty boat as a pulpit and began teaching! I can’t help but think that if the
boat had been filled with fish, Jesus wouldn’t have had anywhere to stand.

In other words, if
Simon had gotten his way and his plan had worked out the way he wanted, there would have
been no place for Jesus to show up. Sometimes, God allows us to come up empty. He allows
frustration, disruption and wilderness experiences, so that He can step into that space and fill our
emptiness with His sovereignty – with His will for our lives. If our boats are already filled with
what we want, there will never be space for God to step in to teach us, so that we can reach the
destiny He has planned for us. Our empty boats create space for Jesus!

Although Simon obeyed Jesus and put his boat out on the water, Jesus called him even further into the deep waters: “When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch [of fish]” (Luke 5:4). It’s amazing how God can use some of our scariest moments of despair to shower unsuspecting blessings upon us. It’s in these moments that He calls us to step out in faith, into the deep waters of uncertainty. I remember when I received my diagnosis of cancer, I felt like I was under water, unable to catch my breath. I thought, what good can come out of this? Through the tears, my perspective was blurred. But, unbeknownst to me, my greatest blessing came from this time of great emptiness – a time when I felt God was nowhere to be found. It was in this time of uncertainty that I heard God whisper His sweetest blessing to me. You’re going to adopt a baby! Me? No way! However, one year later, I had beat cancer and my husband Craig and I were on our way to Ethiopia to adopt our baby girl, Gracie. I have learned to never doubt what God puts on my heart! It’s been eleven
years (to the month) since that trip to Ethiopia, and our sweet Gracie will turn thirteen-years-old
in a few weeks. When I was scared of an uncertain future, God was there. When I felt empty and alone, He saw
me and met me in my circumstance. I just needed to move aside and allow God to step into my

emptiness. It was only then that He was able to go to work, guiding me to my destiny. No matter
how lost, fearful or empty you feel, Jesus sees you! Make sure you create space for Him to
love and guide you through the wilderness and into a life of blessings!