At Your Word I will Let Down the Nets

Luke 5:1-11 ESV

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 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. 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.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

This happens to be one of my favorite Bible stories, and one the Lord has used in my life more than once to encourage me to go places I previously would not have desired nor thought of nor considered going, but where he was sending me. And this would stretch me beyond what I had ever been stretched before, far beyond what I could have ever imagined in my wildest dreams. And I have seen the Lord perform miracle after miracle in my life all along the way, and use me far beyond my natural abilities – all glory to God.

So, when the Lord says, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch,” he is essentially telling us to go wherever he is sending us and that we are to trust him with the results. And we are to believe him that he will supply everything that we need, at the time that we need it, to do and to say whatever it is that he commands us to do and to say. And he is the one who gives the increase. He is the one who provides the people (the fish) for us to minister to, perhaps in ways we never before had imagined.

And sometimes it is in situations that previously did not work out for us, where previously we had been rejected and mistreated and cast aside as though we are unwanted and unnecessary. Sometimes he calls us to go where before we have been hurt deeply and falsely accused of what we did not do, and yelled at, and screamed at, and even cussed out for our obedience to the Lord. Sometimes he sends us back into such situations because he has something he wants us to do or to say or to learn.

And so we need to trust the Lord in these circumstances and not respond in fear. We need to respond like Simon Peter did when he said, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” We need to be willing to go back into difficult situations if this is where God is sending us. We need to “put out into the deep” and go beyond our own human ability and reasoning, and just trust the Lord that where he leads he will supply all that we need to do whatever it is he wants us to do and say.

For our God is the God of miracles, and he can do far beyond what we can possibly imagine with our lives which are surrendered to him to do his will and who are willing to go with him wherever he sends us. And he can multiply our outreach far beyond our human comprehension. 20 years ago I would never have imagined that God would have used me these past 20 years to share what he teaches me from his word each day on the internet and then to trust him to take what he gives to me where he wants it to go.

And when I think I have gone as far as what I can go, he may stretch me even further. I never know what he has planned for me next, but I am willing to be whoever he wants me to be and to go wherever he wants me to go and to do, and to say whatever it is that he wants me to do and to say, all within his divine will and purpose for my life. For it is not me doing it, not in my flesh. I can only do the will of God for my life as I am empowered of God to do and to say what he’s called me to do and to say for his glory.

And yes, I totally feel what Simon Peter felt at that time. Especially since there was a short period of time in my life when I wandered from the Lord and I did the unthinkable and I followed my flesh instead of the Lord. But then the Lord brought me back and then he called me to this ministry, even though I was so undeserving of this calling he has placed on my life. God’s grace is so amazing! And all the time I am utterly aware of his grace in my life as he leads me in his service one day and situation at a time.

I used to be a very fearful person and I was easily frightened by difficult circumstances and people who were mean to me. But the Lord would keep encouraging me to get back in there and he would give me what I needed to persevere, even in the face of much opposition and rejection. And sometimes I still feel that fear. And sometimes at the thought of going back into a difficult situation I cry just thinking about it, for I am not naturally a strong person. But then he helps me to conquer my fears and to obey him.

And the Lord says to me, “Do not be afraid,” and then he leads me in what he wants me to do next. And there are no guarantees that I will not have my heart stomped on again, and that I won’t face even more persecution, and more rejection. But he says, “Do not be afraid. Trust me.” And so I trust him and I go with him wherever he sends me and I say whatever he gives me to say, fully knowing that I may be rejected even more, and that I will be criticized, and that even more people will pull away from me.

But I have left all to follow him. 20 years ago I shut the door to my former life never to reopen it again, and I went with God where he was sending me, even at the cost of much rejection and persecution. And he is taking what he gives me to share to the people across this globe and he is using it according to his will and purposes, even if I cannot physically see the results myself, although I can see some. But this requires that I literally lay it all down to follow him and that I am willing to die, if necessary, to see others go free.

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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