BEFORE YOU QUIT (3) – ONE INSTRUCTION

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.” Luke 5:4 (NLT)

Hello, hello…. Hope you have been blessed by this series so far. Today we get to talk about the instruction Jesus gave to Peter.  As highlighted in the previous post, Jesus was well aware of Peter’s feeling and pain, he knew Peter had worked hard all through the night and had nothing to show for it. He knew Peter was tired, hurt and packing up to leave. Yet Jesus showed up and asked Peter to go back on the sea, not just go back, but go back deeper and do the same thing he did all night and got no results.

Jesus, are you for real? I thought you were touched by my feelings, why would you ask me go back and do the very thing I just failed at? Over the years, I’m learning that true comfort come only from God. But He doesn’t comfort with just words, He comforts with experiences and results that would produce Joy and eliminate the pain and hurtful feelings. But in order to access His comfort, you must be willing to press past your feeling and your mind, and obey Him. God will always show up to comfort, the question then is:  do you have the courage to receive it?

“Go out where it is deeper ” – In order to fish, Peter had to be positioned on the sea. He wouldn’t get the expected catch from the shore. Jesus knew where the provision was, so he could tell Peter exactly where to position himself to receive that provision

We know as Christians we receive from God by faith. When we are in faith, then we rightly positioned to receive from God. Jesus’s first instruction to you is: Go back to the place where you are about quitting, the place where you have failed, the place where you have lost time, the place where you have worked and gotten no results. Go to that place and position yourself in faith. Trust me again, believe again

But He said, don’t just go back to where you went before, go deeper. Why? Because the harvest of fish Jesus had for Peter was further in the ocean. In every situation, what God has prepared for you is exceedingly abundantly above all you can ask or think and it would require you to go deeper. God wants to tell you what you should reach out for in your situation, He wants to show you what He has prepared so you can receive it.  So please spend time seeking God to know what deeper means for you. What does he want you to reach out for in this place?

For example:  A couple is desiring to get a Condo and are trusting God. They did all they could but failed. Now they go back to God and ask God for his thoughts regarding their desire to own a place. God says, I have a house for you with a finished basement suit. They are shocked and say, God but if we get the house, it would require all our resources to pay and we would have nothing to feed or live on. God says, that is what I have for you and you will have to trust me to provide. Now they have to go where it is deeper, they have to position their heart to trust God for a house instead of a condo.  God begins to show them what He wants them to do with their basement suit, because every time He gives is for a purpose. He tells them, I want you to use your basement to welcome new immigrants and share God’s love with them. Now they understand the purpose tied to that provision.

“Let down your nets”: If you have ever tried hard at something and failed you know that it is not easy to go back and do the same thing. You know it hard, it’s hard to override experience. Your feelings would say no don’t do it, your mind would ask if you’re crazy. You did that for the past couple of hours, failed and you want to go back and do it again?  In order for Peter to obey, he had to press past all that. Peter said nevertheless at your word. I’m not doing it because I feel like it, I’m not doing it because it makes sense to, I’m only doing it because YOU SAID I SHOULD.

Just like Peter we would need to get to the place where we make a decision to go back and do the same things we stopped doing when we were about to quit. You won’t be doing it because you feel like or because it makes sense, you will obey BECAUSE the word says to. This is the place where God wants you. You take the same step solely based on His word. I don’t know what your action should be. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you identify what your action is, and take the step. Faith without works is dead