A Fishing Lesson from the Master

They had been fishing all night without catching so much as a guppy. They were tired, frustrated and probably in need of a good shower. As they approached the shore they encountered a crowd listening to a man teach. The man made sense, he spoke in easy to understand ways and he spoke with authority.

When he had finished speaking, he turned to this exhausted group of fisherman and said, "Now go out where it is deeper and let down your nets, and you will catch many fish."
The boat’s captain named Simon replied, “Master, we worked hard all last night and didn't catch a thing. But if you say so, we'll try again.”

Let’s look at the situation. Here we have a group of professional fisherman. These are men that had fished that body of water everyday for probably their entire lives. They had seen it all. They knew how to catch fish. They had had great days and had learned to accept bad days. They may have thought, “Who does this stranger think he is? He doesn’t fish here all day. Doesn’t he realize that we were just out there fishing all night? When we tell him that there are no fish we mean that there are no fish.”

These fishermen may have thought these things, but there was something about this man that caused them to step out of their own abilities and knowledge and obey him. Look at the result of their obedience…

"And this time their nets were so full they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.”

Now that sounds like a great time!

Sometimes, when God calls us to obey, it means that we must step out of our comfort zones into the unknown. The first disciples were asked to go back out fishing and try again – even though they had fished all night. They were comfortable in the knowledge that they had fished and tried their best but to know avail. However, Jesus had other plans for them.

This story, taken from Luke 5, speaks of Christ’s first followers, a group of fisherman. They were taught a very important lesson that we, as disciples, should remember – when God calls his followers to obey it is always well worth it.

God may be calling you to obey him in an area where you must step out of your comfort zone. This may be speaking with friends, neighbors or family about Christ or standing up for what is right at work or school. It may even mean going to be a missionary. Whatever God is calling is calling you to do – obey Him, you won’t be disappointed.

We can find strength to step out in obedience to God by remembering two important truths.

TRUTH #1 – If God calls He enables.

We need to trust that God will not call us to do anything that he will not equip us to do. A trust that God knows what he is talking about is key here. Simon obeyed Jesus because he trusted him. He did not know how things were going to work out, but he knew that he should obey because Jesus had asked him to. We need to have this simple faith that says, “I don’t know how things will work out, but because you called me to I will go.”

TRUTH #2 – Faith grows when it is exercised.

Faith needs to be used to be strengthened. When we say that we don’t have enough faith to step out in obedience, we need to step out with whatever faith we have and our faith will grow. The disciples did not have perfect faith in Jesus, but they had enough to obey and go back out fishing. As they returned to shore with a great catch, their faith in Christ was MUCH greater than before. It was so great that they dropped their nets and followed Jesus. Our faith will continue to be strengthened as we see God proving himself as we obey.

The next time you are tired and feeling a little defeated and God asks you to step out in obedience, follow it will be well worth it.