Trust Him for an abundant catch

Sometimes we work with all our might and passion but the result is little or none. Most people have experienced struggles in getting results for a project they have worked on for a long time. I have experienced this at first hand and I know how it feels when your hard work does not seem to pay off. We could be so much engaged in our work and be committed to it such that when it does not yield result, we are left with no choice but to give up. Even the best workers in their field do sometimes experience a state of dryness. What do you do when your best efforts do not yield good results? Do you give up? Do you quit? Do you pack and move to another project? Seemingly failed situations could also be a season of turn around if a sudden turn of event happens. Imagine when the best fishermen go to the sea and fish all night and not a single fish is caught. Did all the fish leave the sea? Were the fishermen operating with a torn net? Did the sea suddenly swallow all the fish that not a single fish remained in the water? Unbelievable right? But most of us have had seasons where our hard work has yielded little or no result. 

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” (Luke 5:4)

If this sounds familiar to you, then know that you are not alone. The good news is there is someone who can cause a turnaround of events. The miracle of the great catch of fish appears twice in different scenes in the New Testament. Today, we shall focus on the catch that led to the call of Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John. These men were expert fishermen and the sea had been their office until Jesus called them to follow Him. On that particular day, Simon Peter had given Jesus the opportunity to minister to the people using his boat. After the successful sermon, Jesus told Simon Peter in Luke 5:4 to “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Peter the expert fisherman received fishing instructions from the expert carpenter. Peter could have ignored and packed his nets to go back home. But he listened to Jesus and fished on the Master’s word. Simon acknowledged that, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” (Luke 5:4-5). When we fish on the Master’s word, the result is enormous! My popular depiction of this event is the rendition from The Chosen season 1.

Simon Peter  and Andrew trusted Jesus enough to cast their net again for a catch. Then the miracle happened! Luke 5: 4-7 records that “When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.” Whenever we come to our lowest point, we should not stay there. We can give up on our dreams and call it over, or we can give in to our faith and let Him take charge. Many times, we lose focus of what really matters. We get so distracted by what we cannot do to the neglect of what He can do. We can live with an expectation to excel in everything, or we can give chance the opportunity to run our life. Remember, the sea can refuse to give fish all night long but if you hand over your boat to the Master, with just a single launch, you will catch abundant fish that will overwhelm you. Simon Peter and his colleagues had a rough night but at the end of the day, they pulled their boats up on the shore, left everything and followed the Master to fish for people.

Until you trust Him enough to relaunch your net into the deep, you will not experience the miracle of abundance. Once you pack your net and go back home, you have missed an opportunity to witness a miracle. 

Trust Him to calm the storm

My first ever trip on the sea was an excursion on the sea with a very large ship. That was in 2002. The experience was just so great. We experienced slight turbulence while on sea and some of my friends got so sick on board. The next experience was about 2 years later in 2004 at the same port and in a similar ship. Again, the experience was both good and bad. Ten years later (2014), I traveled on sea from Norway to Denmark and from Denmark back to Norway. It was a huge ship and there were more than 400 students on board. To be frank, I enjoyed the scenery and the journey until we experienced turbulence at night. Oh my! It was not a pleasant experience at all. I wondered how seafarers and fishermen survive in deep waters. They certainly deserve to be recognized. At one point myself and my roommates were all scared as the ship tilted sideways. Anyway, we made it and apparently that is normal to traveling on sea. Ah well, I hope to try again!

He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. (Matthew 8:26)

If my experience on a big vessel was unpleasant, imagine fishing with a boat in the  1st Century and experiencing turbulence. In Matthew 8:23-26 (also recorded in Mark and Luke’s gospel), Jesus “got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.” How could Jesus sleep on a cushion (according to Mark’s account) in that furious storm? The peace He had and the assurance that He would arrive at the other end was amazing. The disciples thought they would drown. How could they not have known? They were in the same boat with Jesus and still were scared for their lives. Thankfully, the winds and the waves heard the voice of the Lord and calmed down. 

I would have been flabbergasted! Imagine someone commanding the winds and the waves to calm down during my return trip from Denmark to Norway. The disciples were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” (Matthew 8:27). In life, we face different kinds of storms each day. Sometimes, events in our lives feel like a horrendous storm about to break. Nothing seems to work and all our efforts prove futile. We feel like we’re trapped in a cage of nothingness and yet, we are unable to come out. The good news is, we have the Master over storms and ferocious situations as our Lord. He only comes when invited. Remember, He was sleeping when the tempest was roaring. He stilled the waves and the winds only when He was called. If you have not called Him yet, it is not too late. He is ready to come and calm every storm that is giving your life instability and tossing you back and forth. By His words, the storm will be stilled. Mark’s account (Mark 4:39) states that, “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.” What manner of man commands the winds and the waves? Invite Him today and let him bring stillness to your raging storms. Trust in the Lord!

Fishing at the Master’s Word

Growing up in Ghana, we had to sell a few things as children. My parents did not own a shop so we went around hawking and I must confess that it was not easy. There were days we had a good market and there were days that we roamed the towns all day and yet we didn’t make any significant sales. However, on some bad sales days, we were able to make significant sales when old customers decided to buy in bulk. It was so relieving and the joy was inexpressible. I doff my hard for all children supporting their family businesses. You are champs!

Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” (Luke 5:5)

Bad business days can happen to anyone; whether you work in the corporate world or in the marketplace. Simon (Peter) and his fishing colleagues had a bad fishing day. They had worked all night and caught nothing. Jesus’ requested to use Simon’s boat as a podium to preach. Afterwards, Jesus said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” (Luke 5:4). Simon’s reply was that they had toiled all night but at Jesus’ words, they will let down the nets. They “caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink” (Luke 5:6‭-‬7).

What a miracle? The same sea that refused to give fish all night long obeyed the voice of Jesus and spewed out enough fish to cause the nets to break and the boats to sink. When Jesus is at work, there is no barrenness, there is no lack, there is no deficiencies. Jesus completes all our needs. Simon and his colleagues could have just ignored Jesus and gone home. Afterall, they had toiled all night. But, their obedience to the voice of Jesus caused their overflow. Many of us are in similar positions. We have toiled all year, months, days, and nothing seems to work. We are in the 11th hour and the tendency is to pack our nets.

Guess what, maybe we have not yet handed our boats over to Jesus. We may proclaim Him as Saviour but He is not our Lord. When was the last time we went out of our way to do something because of the Lord’s commands. Jesus demands a relationship from you. He is not just one of your customers, He is the owner of your life. Remember that you cannot draw near to Him if you are occupied with fishing for yourself. Take a step to hand that boat to Him and trust Him when He says throw down the net.

Remember, if nothing seems to work and you know that you have a good relationship with the Lord, it could be that the time is not right for what you are looking for. Lazarus was in the tomb for four days but Jesus was not late. He was right on time to raise him from the dead. God is not done with you!

I pray that we will come to the overflow experience. May God help us in our weaknesses to hand over our everything to Him. He is faithful.