“3. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. 4. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 6. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.”
Do you ever feel like you try and try at something, but no matter how hard you try, success never comes your way. In this context of scripture we can see that Peter had spent all night and not caught one fish. We’ve all been there, maybe a week long hunt and not one deer crosses our path; months of job applications, but no returned phone calls; searching for a spouse, but nothing more than loneliness. In I Kings 19 there was a great prophet by the name of Elijah. He sits down under a juniper tree and asks God to take his own life because of this wicked woman by the name of Jezebel wanting to kill him. She had already killed all the other prophets and Elijah is now at this place in his life where he wants to give up. The Lord gives him food at the juniper tree and he finds strength for a forty day journey. At the end of his journey he finds himself at a cave in Mount Horeb. Here, God makes himself known, but speaks to him in a very simple way: I Kings 19:11-12 “And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” Elijah found his success in the Word of the Lord, just as Peter did. It was that “still small voice.” We are good about figuring things out on our own, but we cant figure out why it never works. Put yourself in Peter’s shoes for a minute; he has been fishing all night and caught nothing. Jesus is now speaking to him and says “Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.” Draught means that which is taken by sweeping with a net. Peter says ok, I’ll let down the net. Big mistake! He didn’t listen fully! Jesus said nets! His blessing was so big that the net(singular) broke, he should have let down the nets(plural). Sometimes it seems like nothing is ever going to change, we want to give up, we lose faith, we say there is no hope! Only you can answer this question; are you reading the Word of God everyday? Its that still small voice that gives us guidance, it the precious Words of the Lord Jesus Christ that will guide us. There are many Christians that may read the Bible, but many of them allow it to be a ritual in their week. Allow God’s Word to direct you in your daily decisions. When He speaks to you, do what He says! Do exactly what He says! You don’t want to end up like Peter! Luke 5:6 “…and their net brake.”
Memory Verse Week 7/23/18
Psalm 46:10
“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”
