Expecting to Catch Fish

Scripture: And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” Luke 5:5

Observation: Simon Peter and his friends were fishermen. They knew how to fish. They had years of experience. They knew the currents, they knew the seasons. They knew how to do their jobs well. Along comes Jesus who tells them to go to a certain spot and let their nets down and they will catch fish. I am sure the fishermen were tired—they had worked all night. I am sure they were discouraged—they caught nothing. I am sure they believed there were not any fish to be caught in the spot Jesus pointed them to—if there were, these experienced fishermen would have caught some. They had no reason to expect to catch one fish…except Jesus’ words. They obeyed, they dropped their nets, and they caught so many fish their nets broke.

Application: When God shows up, he restores our expectations. When I look at a situation and think, “I am tired, I am discouraged, nothing will happen,” then I am looking like a fisherman and not a disciple. I don’t expect because I don’t have the faith to see that God can reverse trends and directions. I am sure there were no fish to be caught that day. But God did in a moment what a night of work could not.
God wants to reach people for Christ at Pulpit Rock. In some ways, we are like those weary fishermen. We have worked hard, we have been discouraged by a lack of fish, and we have lost expectation that there is anything to be done. But God has been showing up, calling us to go out and drop our nets. He is doing more than helping us change some lives. He is restoring our expectations. Our expectation that on our own, there are no fish. But with God, all things are possible.

Prayer: God, this restoration of expectation is the clearest call I have heard in awhile. It is your call for Pulpit Rock (and me) in 2010. I do not know how to do it. You have to show up and speak. You have to point to the deep and say “Drop your nets there.” You have to lead me and our people to say, “But at your word, I will.” O God, please do this and our mouths will be filled with laughter.