Luke 5:4-7 When He had stopped speaking. He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.
Just like Simon, we all have our moments where we try and tell the Lord that we have really tried everything, without any success. But let’s look carefully at what happened there that day when Jesus told Simon to launch into the deep, because instead of just associating with Simon in regard to how we also often feel as we look at all we have tried and now how the Word of the Lord sounds as if it’s just going to leave us with the same result, let us behold what Simon did.
When Jesus commanded him to go out into the deep to catch fish, Simon's response was, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything." See the problem with our response? It starts with what WE HAVE already done, how WE HAVE worked all night, and how WE HAVE tried everything.
Haven’t we all been there, or, with all due respect, are some of us still there?
But then Simon said something I pray the Holy Spirit reminds us of each day: "Nevertheless, at Your word, I will....”
There's something powerful and wonderful in those moments, like Simon, when we submit ourselves under Jesus's word, because think about it, of all Simon and the other disciples have tried, and of all the things you and I have tried, to "launch into the deep upon His Word" was something the disciples hadn't tried and many of us haven't tried yet.
Luke 5:6 tells us that the result was that they caught a great number of fish—so many that their net was breaking! It was the same boat that launched the previous night, the same net that caught nothing a few hours ago, the same water they all knew well, and, of course, the same bunch of people who had all the skills, but this time they went out UPON THE WORD OF THE LORD.
We so often behold all our best efforts, all we have tried, and all we have done, yet nothing changes until we all, like Simon, submit ourselves under the word of the Lord.
May the Holy Spirit remind us every day to seek the Lord and move upon His word in all we approach, especially in those situations and challenges and problems we haven't yet caught the break on.
Luke 5:8 says, "And when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, 'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord'" (Luke 5:8)!
Many people have toiled for days and nights to become a better person, to stop sinning, and to change their life and live righteously, yet the result never changes.
But upon the Word of the Lord, Jesus Christ, everything changes, so much so that our testimony through Him turns from all we have tried to what happened when we launched upon His Word.
Amen