Luke 5 tells of Jesus meeting His disciples for the first time and it’s a story I am reflecting on today…

For the sake of time allow me to summarize it a bit~

Jesus is at the Sea of Galilee and sees these boats just off the shore. The “owners” are washing their nets outside of the boats: He asks them (as He climbs into one) to out the boat a little out from the shore so He can better teach the crowd that has followed Him.

Peter is the man Jesus made this request to.

Peter complied and it appears that he also listened to what Jesus was speaking to the people because when Jesus had finished He told Peter to put the nets back in the water to fish.

Peter said “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing…. but, at Your word, I will do as You say” (vs 5).

The ending of this meeting is that they caught a ton of fish and ultimately Peter, his brother Andrew, and their “business partners”- James and John – all left their jobs and lives to follow Christ.

Cool story.

The points that stand out to me are these:

#1 Peter was doing something already when asked to stop that task and get back into the boat so a virtual stranger could do his public speaking

#2 when Jesus told them to fish again, Peter had already failed at catching anything during the prime time to fish

We are all busy people, right?

There are some days when I am busier than others- no doubt about it!

There are some days when I am so tired ( and maybe discouraged) at the end of the day I just want to finish the task before me and go to bed.

I assume I am not alone in that line of thinking??

Peter is no different. He had just worked his “shift” and was cleaning up so he could go home. Not only had he worked a long day but it was also an unproductive day.

He had caught nothing.

Ever have that kind of day??

Out of the blue, someone you don’t really know but can kinda tell may be a person of importance asks you for a favor…

(We assume Peter saw the crowd of people following Jesus to indicate that He was a man worth helping)

How many times can you say you would agree to stay a little bit longer…do something not exactly on your to-do list….put your fatigue and frustration aside to be nice to a complete stranger??

Peter was as human as you and me… I’ve been that tired and frustrated at the end of a day…I can honestly say I would have sighed a HUGE sigh (with the word “al-riiiigghht” coming off my tongue) as I untied my boat for Him.

Imagine if Peter would have said no or asked Andrew to help Jesus so he, Peter, could go home?

Talk about a missed opportunity to be entirely changed by the Savior!

Instead, Peter helps Jesus with his boat while also sitting to listen to this teacher teach.

What a lesson that must have been, huh?

Next, when Jesus was done speaking to the crowd, He addresses the captain of this vessel personally. He gives the “helpful” suggestion to fish again when the time isn’t even right to.

Don’t you love it when someone who doesn’t do your job tells you how to do your job???

Especially when you are tired and have already had a really bad day at it??

Peter, being Peter, gives a great response in saying “ummmm….we kind of already did that today and didn’t do so well at it…and when we did it was kind of when you should do it.. sooooo, this may not be a good time for it and all….

BUT

Ok. We’ll do it because YOU asked us to”.

Talk about a pride swallowing situation.

They were done for the day people.

They had put their stuff away.

They were tired.

They were sitting on the memory of their failed attempt from earlier.

And here this teacher is asking them to go back at it.

At the wrong time of day to even do it.

I have an extremely strong-willed almost 14 year old son.

He challenges me at every turn and if his mind is set against something he will not budge for anything.

I have learned the art of parental compromise with him in order to keep the peace. The old saying to “pick your battles” is very applicable in rasing him!

He has this fundraiser to do…he is supposed to sell 20 of these things by early September. He is actually quite excited at the thought of the prizes he would qualify for if he sold 30.

This makes him more motivated than I have seen him in a while over a “chore”.

However..

He decided, in his enthusiasm, to canvas the neighborhood one day to become the great salesman he hoped to be.

For him, it meant he actually woke up in the summer at a decent time.. got dressed. . brushed his teeth ... and left the house to go talk to strangers about this great coupon deal he had to offer them.

Pretty awesome stuff!

Here is the however…

another boy in the neighborhood beat him to the punch and all 5 of the houses my son approached so boldly told him they had already purchased the coupon book.

This led him to the assumption that the whole neighborhood had purchased a book so why bother continuing his quest.

I asked- what about our next door neighbor? Maybe Sam did not buy one yet…we won’t know for sure unless we ask him, right?

My son, convinced that this is an absolute lost cause, will not budge or adjust his pride to go ask our neighbor if he would like to purchase this great deal from NIC- not just some kid down the street.

No amount of discussion will change my son’s mind.

He has quit on the neighbor before he really even began trying.

Peter knew it wasn’t the right time of day to fish….he knew he had already failed at his job when it was the right time of day to be doing it.

And yet…

Because of the One asking him, he swallowed his pride and tossed his nets into the sea anyway…

Peter chose to trust and obey the word of God even when the circumstance seemed incompatible with success.

Can we say we are like Peter when we know the Lord is asking something from us and it seems ridiculous or impossible to do it…and just trust and obey in doing it??

I imagine it is easier to be like my young son, who is still trying to figure life out…it is hard to put yourself out there in the face of impending or possible failure, isn’t it?

It is hard to do something when you are tired, frustrated, or have already “failed” at …

Endurance means to keep going..even if the odds are stacked against you…if if you are tired….even if you feel you can’t…even if you don’t think it won’t make a difference. ..

Why?

Because Jesus told us to…

What is the “net” in your life you need to toss over the side of the boat in faith?

Is it something as simple as a fundraiser card or something more significant?

Trust and obey….

The reward for it are innumerable blessings that are not always tangible or profitable in this life… but in Peter’s case it was in more fish than he could handle on his own!

We can’t out give God…and He LOVES to love on His children especially when we are obedient to His word.

Just something to think about….