Promise of Presence
“And when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’ And Simon answered, ‘Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at Your word I will let down the nets.’"—Luke 5:4-5
Peter was tired. He had been fishing all night long. He knew fishing; after all, he had spent his life doing it. He had tried and tried, but nothing. The night was long and usually productive, but not this past night. The fish were usually close to the surface at night, you could see them on a clear night if the moon was out, and catching them was not a problem, but last night it was different. There were no fish, which made the morning all the more difficult. His muscles ached, and he along with his crew needed some sleep. They had mended the nets, and set them up to dry so that they would be ready for latter tonight, after they got some rest, a good meal, and some sleep. It had been one of those days that you would rather forget. It’s one thing to finish a day tired and feeling as if you have accomplished something, but it’s quite another to finish a day with nothing to show for it. That’s how Peter felt. He had come into shore in the early morning hours and the vendors were waiting to buy some of fish, but sadly, today there was none. He had just finished putting up the nets to dry when Jesus showed up. The crowd gathered quickly around Him and kept pushing Him closer and closer to the shore. Jesus requested to use Peter’s boat as a platform and Peter offered it to Him. It was nice to pause from his evening of failure and be useful for a change. He heard Jesus’ words gladly and was ready to dock the boat again when Jesus told him to go back out and let down his nets again. Jesus may know a lot about life and God, but what did He know about fishing? After all, He was raised as a carpenter!
Peter, perhaps against all judgment, or perhaps to pacify Jesus, acquiesced to Jesus’ request. He still was tired, and still needed food and a good amount of sleep, but he put out the nets nonetheless. He had failed to catch anything the night before, but this time, he had Jesus with him. They cast their nets to the side, expecting nothing, but there was a stir in the water, a little tug on the nets—and then the boat began to move under the weight of what was in the net. They pulled the nets and what did they see? Fish! Dozens and dozens of fish, wiggling in the net, gasping for breath, but in the net! They tried to pull the net onboard, but it looked as if it might break. They called out to the other boat, and they came quickly, helping them bring in the nets, both of their boats filled to capacity with fish!
Never had Peter felt his own sinfulness as he did now. He fell on his knees in front of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." Jesus responded, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." Jesus had taken Peter back to the scene of his fishing failure and transformed him so that he might be a fruitful fisherman of faith.
Jesus has a way of transforming fishing failures. God wants to increase our fruitfulness in ministry and will only do so as we obey His command by taking new steps of faith. He takes our fishing failures and through faith makes us faithful fishermen.
Jesus takes us to places we would otherwise not go. He promises us His presence and we, like Peter, go at His word. But, unlike Peter, we don’t have Jesus’ literal presence in our boat. We have His Spirit within us, assuring us of His presence and power in our lives.
Are we willing to be like Peter and go back to the source of our fruitlessness in order to experience Christ’s blessing? Are we willing to take Jesus at His Word and entrust to Him the results of our labor?
We all must entrust ourselves to the great and divine King, knowing that it’s Him and Him alone who can transform this world and us by His presence and command. God will bless, but only when we first obey and take the first step of faith. Amen.
Peter was tired. He had been fishing all night long. He knew fishing; after all, he had spent his life doing it. He had tried and tried, but nothing. The night was long and usually productive, but not this past night. The fish were usually close to the surface at night, you could see them on a clear night if the moon was out, and catching them was not a problem, but last night it was different. There were no fish, which made the morning all the more difficult. His muscles ached, and he along with his crew needed some sleep. They had mended the nets, and set them up to dry so that they would be ready for latter tonight, after they got some rest, a good meal, and some sleep. It had been one of those days that you would rather forget. It’s one thing to finish a day tired and feeling as if you have accomplished something, but it’s quite another to finish a day with nothing to show for it. That’s how Peter felt. He had come into shore in the early morning hours and the vendors were waiting to buy some of fish, but sadly, today there was none. He had just finished putting up the nets to dry when Jesus showed up. The crowd gathered quickly around Him and kept pushing Him closer and closer to the shore. Jesus requested to use Peter’s boat as a platform and Peter offered it to Him. It was nice to pause from his evening of failure and be useful for a change. He heard Jesus’ words gladly and was ready to dock the boat again when Jesus told him to go back out and let down his nets again. Jesus may know a lot about life and God, but what did He know about fishing? After all, He was raised as a carpenter!
Peter, perhaps against all judgment, or perhaps to pacify Jesus, acquiesced to Jesus’ request. He still was tired, and still needed food and a good amount of sleep, but he put out the nets nonetheless. He had failed to catch anything the night before, but this time, he had Jesus with him. They cast their nets to the side, expecting nothing, but there was a stir in the water, a little tug on the nets—and then the boat began to move under the weight of what was in the net. They pulled the nets and what did they see? Fish! Dozens and dozens of fish, wiggling in the net, gasping for breath, but in the net! They tried to pull the net onboard, but it looked as if it might break. They called out to the other boat, and they came quickly, helping them bring in the nets, both of their boats filled to capacity with fish!
Never had Peter felt his own sinfulness as he did now. He fell on his knees in front of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." Jesus responded, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." Jesus had taken Peter back to the scene of his fishing failure and transformed him so that he might be a fruitful fisherman of faith.
Jesus has a way of transforming fishing failures. God wants to increase our fruitfulness in ministry and will only do so as we obey His command by taking new steps of faith. He takes our fishing failures and through faith makes us faithful fishermen.
Jesus takes us to places we would otherwise not go. He promises us His presence and we, like Peter, go at His word. But, unlike Peter, we don’t have Jesus’ literal presence in our boat. We have His Spirit within us, assuring us of His presence and power in our lives.
Are we willing to be like Peter and go back to the source of our fruitlessness in order to experience Christ’s blessing? Are we willing to take Jesus at His Word and entrust to Him the results of our labor?
We all must entrust ourselves to the great and divine King, knowing that it’s Him and Him alone who can transform this world and us by His presence and command. God will bless, but only when we first obey and take the first step of faith. Amen.
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