Luke 5:4-5
Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.  And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

Peter didn’t seem to really want to go back out fishing.  It had been a long, hard night that only left them with dirty nets and an empty boat.  Maybe he was tired.  Maybe he didn’t see what good it would do when they had already been so unsuccessful.  But since it was Jesus who asked, he was willing to give it a try.  Since Jesus made the request, Peter let down that empty net and brought it back up filled to overflowing.  And he may have cast that net out skeptically, but he drew it back humbled and amazed.

Perhaps we have been out toiling on our own and coming up empty time and time again.  But Jesus has asked us to trust Him and obey Him and see what might happen when we do that.  And though we may be tired from working too long and so hard in our own strength and though we can’t see how it is possible, may we be willing to obey simply because it is Jesus who asks us to.  We can’t see what He sees.  We can’t understand what He intends in our situation.  But we can know that He is able, He is powerful, and He is at work.

When we take those steps of faith, launching out into the deep, we learn a lot about ourselves and even more about Jesus.  When we experience these kinds of situations, like Peter, we can’t be the same anymore.  When they pulled in their catch, their nets broke and the boats started to sink, but they wouldn’t be needing them anymore for what Jesus had planned for them.  From that moment, their identity changed from fishermen to fishers of men.  Jesus can work those same changes in our hearts, moving us to a new purpose and a new path for our lives as we surrender to Him.

Let’s take all the commandments of Jesus to heart and be willing to obey because we trust the one who gave them.  Let’s respond when He prompts us to do something, because He wants to work in us and through us.  Let’s listen when we hear His voice, because He wants to reveal Himself to us more and more as we walk with Him.  Let’s be willing to push past our own feelings, our own doubts, our disappointments and just do as Jesus asks.  When we do that, we’ll be overwhelmed and amazed by what He will do in our lives.