Avalanches are mysterious things.

The snow on the mountains appears static and unchanging. From day to day, nothing looks different. It seems like the status quo will continue as before.

But then all of a sudden, a mass of snow and ice breaks loose and barrels down the hills. Sweeping change happens in a flash, seemingly coming out of the blue.

There was no hint that this would happen.

Or was there?

Underneath the surface, things were going on that we couldn’t see. Perhaps the composition of the snowpack was changing, the load was becoming too great, or sublayers were weakening through melting. From above, we might not be able to tell that the snowpack was becoming increasingly unstable.

But it was now being held in such precarious tension that at any moment a tipping point would be reached. It would be enough to set the whole thing off, leading to a massive snow slide.

Do you ever feel that you’re in a period in your life where nothing seems to be happening? Despite your prayers for change, everything looks the same from day to day.

Looks can be deceiving.

When Jesus is in the picture, sudden change may be on its way, perhaps even an avalanche of blessings.

Simon Peter and his fishing partners James and John found this out, in dramatic fashion.

Luke 5:1-7 tells us of a time when Jesus was teaching by a lake. Needing a platform from which to preach, He asked the fishers if He could use one of their boats for this purpose. Simon agreed, and put out from the shore a bit so Jesus could be better heard by the crowds.

When Jesus had finished teaching, He made an unusual request of Simon. He told him to venture into deeper water and put out his nets again.

This was an odd thing to ask, because when Jesus had arrived on the scene, the fishermen were washing their nets. That means they had already finished their fishing for the day. Jesus had probably noticed their lack of a catch.

“Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything.’ ”

The request didn’t make sense to Simon, who figured that there was no use letting down the nets again. It was hopeless: they’d been trying for hours, but there were clearly no fish in this part of the lake.

Obediently, he went along with Jesus’ suggestion nonetheless: “But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

Suddenly, massive change arose.

The nets were filled with so many fish that they strained under the load, and began to break. The men signalled to their partners in the other boat to come help. Both boats became so laden down with the huge catch of fish that they began to sink.

What Simon and the others couldn’t see was that God had been arranging things under the surface. All they could see was the unchanging circumstance of no fish being caught all night, the same fruitless results hour after hour.

But unbeknownst to them, God was gathering the fish together, waiting for the right time. In response to Jesus’ word and Simon’s obedience, a massive change was triggered. They received an avalanche of blessings, more fish than their boats could handle, and probably worth a fair penny, too.

Your situation may be similar. Perhaps you’ve been praying that God would make a change in your circumstances, but you see no evidence that anything is working out.

Trust that God is working under the surface and behind the scenes, arranging things for your future benefit. You can’t see it coming yet, but at the right time God will give the word and the tide will suddenly turn in your favour.

Keep up your faith, because an avalanche of blessings may be en route for you!

© 2021 Lori J. Cartmell. All rights reserved.