Guest blogger: Joe Barone - "...but because you say so."

“When he (Jesus) finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Push the boat out further to the deep water, and you and your partners let down your nets for a catch.’” (Luke 5:4, GNT).

These are not the words you want to hear after spending all night fishing with nothing to show for it. Besides, you’ve just finished cleaning the nets and hanging them up for another day. Well, those are the exact words that Simon Peter heard from Jesus. Fighting the discouragement, frustration and weariness of a fishless night, Peter responds: “‘Master,’ Simon answered, ‘we worked hard all night long and caught nothing. But if you say so, I will let down the nets.’” (Luke 5:5, GNT).

Weariness, discouragement, and frustration are frequent companions to us as well. Many times, we encounter what we think are hopeless situations. Our best efforts come up short. Our time and our attempts seem wasted. It is at these moments that we need to tough it out and return to the work at hand. We need to see what Peter saw and know what Peter knew.
 
In Christ, Peter saw a reliable, trustworthy friend and ally. He knew Jesus was a person of His word, a man of hope. OK, Jesus, if you want to fish, we will fish. I’m exhausted. I’m hungry. There’s no fish, and I really just want to go home. But because it's you, I’ll do it. The outcome: a catch so large the nets begin to break and the boats start to sink. An abundant blessing!

Rest on the promises of Jesus. Rest on His reliability. Rest on His vision. Remember Jesus sees what we can’t. He saw the magnitude of the catch before it reached the nets.
He sees the blessings that we can’t. They’re just around the corner – the corner we are often reluctant to turn. We hesitate due to weariness or turn back because of failure. We’re afraid of another dead end. Try again! Jesus wants to help us. Guide us. Equip us. He wants us to experience the blessings that will stretch our nets. You may not feel up to it, but cast them anyway. Let Simon Peter’s words be the resolution of your heart towards the Lord: “...but because you say so. I will.”