Living In Hope: Luke 5:4

                        Something special on the horizon? 

Luke 5:4 Now when he had left speaking, he said to Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch. And Simon said to him, "Master, we have toiled all night and have caught nothing; nevertheless at your word I will let down the net. And when they had done this, they had caught a great multitude of fish and their net broke. 

How can you know when something really special is on the horizon? How can you know when God is about to do something abundantly, above all you could ask or think? There is so much we can learn from this story.  

First of all, God allows all your efforts to fail. He allows all your labors to be unsuccessful. 

When you have exerted yourself and nothing has worked out. When you have done everything you can do, and have nothing at all to show for it. 

It feels bad when you try to achieve something time and time again only to come up short. 

This is how Peter must have felt after fishing all night and catching nothing. All night long, casting out his nets, dragging in his nets, and coming up empty time and time again. So representative of us trying to achieve something over and over again, yet, coming up empty. 

Secondly, after God allows all your efforts to fail, He asks you to do something that doesn't make any sense. What Jesus asked Peter to do contradicted his experience, knowledge, and instincts. As a very experienced fisherman, Peter had every right to tell Jesus His instructions were not going to work. 

Nevertheless, "But I will do as you say and let down my nets." 

Seeing God breakout and do something very special through our life has nothing to do with our human efforts and human strength. It is simply by hearing God's Word and obeying in an act of faith.  

So often God will let us fail time and time again in our human strength because in doing so He is putting all our human efforts aside. When they are finally out of the way, all we are left with is obedience. 

So, when all human efforts have failed and we are left with simple obedience, what comes next?  

"When they had done this, they had caught a great multitude of fish and their net broke.

Paul would have called this catch, Exceedingly, abundantly, above all we could ask or think. 

Let me encourage you today; all of us know what it is like to exert our self and nothing works out. All of us know what it is to try and achieve something time and time again, and have nothing to show for it. The disappointment is crushing. The feelings of failure almost unbearable. Yet, be of good courage. This is often the indication something very special is on the horizon. God is about to do something abundantly, above all we could ask or think. 

Lamentations 3:25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord

Psalm 130:5 I wait for the Lord; my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope