Nevertheless at your word
In Luke 5, starting from verse 1, we read:
Luke 5:1-3
"So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him [Jesus} to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and PRAYED him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat."
"So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him [Jesus} to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and PRAYED him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat."
Multitudes were coming to the shores of Gennesaret, to hear Jesus, to hear the Word of God. Here are also two boats coming back from work. The Lord got into one of them, the boat of Simon the fisherman, and "PRAYED HIM to put it out a little from the land". He prayed him. He PLEADED him. He didn’t command him. He didn’t bypass Peter’s right to do whatever he wanted in his boat. The Son of God, the One to whom the Father had delivered all things (Luke 10:22), the One to whose command the air, the sea and the nature were subjected, PLEADED Simon. This is the gentleness of the Lord. "Simon, could you please put out your boat a little from the land?" Simon did it and the Lord started teaching the multitudes. Then in verses 4-7 we read:
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. So they signalled 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."
"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. So they signalled 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."
It was not that they didn’t work hard. The tried hard…all night….. but they caught nothing. It happens to us as well sometimes. We put a lot of emphasis and effort on something, and yet, despite our much effort, our nets remain empty. We say "I will follow this or that strategy to obtain it." We get together, we think, we make plans but the nets remain empty. And here is Jesus. He knew very well their needs. He could see the frustration in their eyes. He could feel their agony about what they would put on the table that day. He also can see the sadness in your eyes as you gaze the empty nets. "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." He comes when you gaze your empty nets… "Friend, go to the deep and let them down again… I know they are empty". "But Lord we have been trying all night" Peter said or we would say "But Lord I have tried so many times and yet always I bring them up empty." But Peter does not stop there: "NEVERTHELESS AT YOUR WORD I WILL LET DOWN THE NET". You may look at the nets with sadness and wonder why they are still empty. Simon and the other fishermen may thought the same. "It could be the air". "Probably it could be because of the moon." "Probably somebody else was quicker than us." "Probably, we are not that good fishermen. " Many "probably" and "may be", which however do not matter when the Lord says "let them down again". "It is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy" (Romans 9:16) says the Word. And again:
Psalms 127:1-2
"Unless the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His beloved sleep."
"Unless the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His beloved sleep."
And you are His beloved. "Beloved of God" (Romans 1:7) and "Beloved" ones calls us the Word of God. "BELOVED, NOW WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD" says in I John 3:2. You are God’s child NOW! You may have knocked many doors. You may have prayed for this a lot. Do not lose courage. At the time Peter and the others were washing their empty nets, the Lord was on their boat, just next to them. He came without inviting him. He came at the time they needed Him most. "Go to the deep friends and through them there". And they had enough courage to do it again.
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