“Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Luke 5:4
Sisters in Christ,
Can you believe we’re halfway through the year already? I’m thinking everyone has pretty much gotten their routines and schedules down by this point of the year, and things may be running pretty much as expected. As we keep doing what we’re used to, it can be easy to get on cruise control and not stray from our “normal” plans.
In Luke 5:1-3, we see Jesus enlist the help of some fishermen in the middle of their normal workday, and then in their boat, He teaches the crowds of people that have come to hear the word of God. These fishermen were along for the ride and probably listened in to Jesus’ teachings, because we see that as Jesus finished speaking, He asked Simon Peter to “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch”.
The guys already washed their nets and were done for the day, and yet Jesus was asking them to go out again, this time into deep water. Deep water, where things are dark and unknown. Jesus calls His disciples out to the deep waters…to places that aren’t in our element, are out of our control, or are bigger than we can imagine. These unknowns can be intimidating and scary. But it’s in these waters we grow in faith.
Peter’s initial response was to say, “But we’ve been doing this all night and caught nothing!” They were tired, caught nothing, and frankly they had probably conceded that they’d be going home empty-handed. Sometimes we can get so caught up in thinking, “I’ve done this all night!” Or “I’ve prayed for this for so long, it’s just not going to happen”… “It’s fine and not meant to be.” Simon Peter could’ve been so afraid to end up without a catch again, but instead he replied, “But at Your word, I will…” (Luke 5:5). When God speaks to and leads us, we can trust and have faith that He will remain faithful, even when it seems we’ve been waiting for a missed catch.
In verses 6-7 we see that when they listened to and obeyed Jesus, their nets were so overflowing that other boats came to help because of the abundance of fish! Others saw God’s goodness through Peter’s obedience, and they were in awe; it was the haul of their lives! One of my favorite parts here is that as they stand in awe of Jesus, He reminds them “Do not fear…” Do not fear the unknown, do not fear the waiting, do not fear trying again, do not fear all that Jesus has for you…because Jesus had a plan for their new normal: “…from now on, you’ll be catching men.” And at that they left everything and followed Him.
Let’s keep pushing forward in prayer and not fear or grow weary as we follow Him. May we hear from and obey Him and may the overflow of His goodness in our lives impact those around us while we stand in awe of our faithful Lord Jesus.
In His grace, Jaime Angel