Following His Direction

April 14, 2021

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 signaled 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.

~Luke 5:5‭-‬7~

I can't stress enough how important obedience to God is. It is the number one key factor in seeing miracles, signs, wonders and victory happen in front of our eyes. His perfect timing. This story of when Peter was told by Jesus where and when to cast his nets shows us quite amazing lessons in how we are to obey and follow His commands even today. Peter was discouraged because he worked all night and could not catch one single fish, he was ready to give up and go home. Jesus was ready to now give His instruction at the perfect time just when they thought all hope was lost. Simple direction given, Peter's obedience followed through. Peter trusted Jesus' word and at His word he did just as he was told. What happens next? An abundance of fish overflowed to the point Peter needed help to pull them up onto the boat! "And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus."

(I Timothy 1:14)

Jesus came through with far more then Peter could ever think to ask for. This is the God we serve! I believe many times we can tend to feel overwhelmed if there is something we are praying on for a long while with no answer, when we are working day by day to serve and gather more people to the kingdom with not much outcome or when we feel useless in the things we are striving to achieve; God is saying "listen for my direction, focus on my timing." If Jesus had done this in the night for Peter, how would God of gotten the glory? He had to wait for that perfect time when God gave Him the go ahead to speak the word, for others to witness that perfect blessing. Peter's trust and obedience turned into such a miraculous gift! Peter and the other men who needed to draw near to help him lift these fish into the boat witnessed the glory of God and praised Him for it. This story correlates with the way we live today as Christ followers. When we listen and discern the voice of God, we are able to obey His timing and live only as He tells us to. We may find ourselves pulling in more then we could ever imagined and the Lord will send more people to help us "lift our nets." There is a time when God sends help and God builds up His church. This is what we should strive for. There is so much potential in people who obey, listen, act upon and watch for His glory to unfold. Everything we do should be for Him and through Him. When Peter was attempting to catch fish on his own he caught nothing. When Peter had Jesus helping him, he caught more then he set out to get in the first place. So much so that his net began to break and his boat began to sink down! "to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."

(II Thessalonians 2:14)

Jesus put Peter to the test, Peter obeyed, Peter recieved and Peter went on to be fisher of men. Just as he didn't expect to pull in so many fish that day, he had no idea that he would pull in an abundance of men for the kingdom of heaven. God always goes above our expectations! "But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”

(Mark 10:27)

Peter did not waver in listening from the beginning to what Jesus told him to do. Peter did go on to deny knowing Jesus eventually, however, forgiven immediately he was, for Jesus knew who he would go on to be for His kingdom. He wished to show him just how many "fish" he could catch by just following the word of God. Peter then went on to be one of the first men to see Jesus' empty tomb after His ressurection; "Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there."

(John 20:6)

Timing is everything to God. Obedience should be first in our hearts. Trusting and having faith as we wait. Jesus is telling us in due time we shall reap what we sow. Peter may have made a mistake at one time, but who hasnt? We can learn a lot from his ability to believe in all the other moments he truely obeyed the Lord. He represented Christ and went on to gather multiple people to follow the Lord and speak with wisdom, yet another abundant gift from God! Let us follow the Lord's direction and draw near as we listen for His timing. " Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us." (Psalms 62:8)

For Peter could honestly say the wait was worth it. Let's believe in God and not attempt to fish on our own, let's look to Jesus and follow what He is telling our hearts to do. Let us strive to break our nets and sink our boats with an abundance of blessings for others. All in His perfect timing for the Glory of God!

Prayer:

Gracious God, I am so thankful for Your amazing timing for each event You have carefully planned out. Your glory shall be praised as I trust and obey You and do just as You tell me to do. Lord, my only desire is to show those around me who You are, what You can do and how much You love them. Help me to gather an abundance of "fish" for Your glory and Name to be praised. Fill me with the patience and endurance that You allowed Peter to be filled with. I pray to always listen to You alone and not focus on being noticed myself or trying to make things work on my own. For I can do nothing without You. I am honoring Your most Holy Name in all that I move in, right when You tell me to move. I surrender to Your direction and I pray that I may hear You as clearly as Peter heard You as he looked into Your eyes. In Your glorious Name I lift this prayer to Your throne, Jesus Christ. Amen.