"When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water, and let down your nets for a catch." 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 5:4-5 NIV).
Jesus had used Simon Peter's boat to speak to a very large crowd and it was after this that he told Peter to go out to the deep to catch some fish. Peter didn't have to do this. He could have made excuses and whined, saying that they had been out all night and there were no fish out there. But it was his submission that teaches us all a lesson. The results were amazing, enough fish to fill two boats. This convinced the fisherman that Jesus was a special man so much so that they gave up everything to follow Him.
Casting Crowns, a Christian musical group, has a song that speaks about being in the middle between the deep and the shore. The shore is where we were before we knew Jesus and the deep is where we give Him everything and not live for what this world can give us. Sometimes we are in the middle, not wanting to commit ourselves completely to Jesus, but yet not wanting to go back to the very dark life we had before Christ. Peter is an inspiration because he said, "I will do as you say." It is time for us to let down our nets into the deep and to trust God to use us in remarkable and amazing ways. It is easy to sit in the middle, but that is not where we will benefit from seeing how God can work in our lives. It is when we surrender everything into His hands that we truly see His power at work. Jesus said that nothing is impossible with God. We limit ourselves sometimes because we don't have enough faith to believe that God can still do awesome things through us. God needs us to go to the deep, trust Him, and do something amazing for Him in His name.
Dear God,
It is very tempting sometimes to stay in the middle, not committing ourselves to be fully used by you. After all, when we are in the middle, there are no expectations. Help us to go out into the deep because you want us to learn that trusting you can bring us amazing results. Thank you for giving us the courage to step out in faith knowing you will never leave us or forsake us.
In Jesus' name,
Amen
