"Put Out into Deep Water"

Try to imagine what it was like for Peter. He had been fishing all night (v. 5), and now after cleaning their nets of all weed, he was exhausted and wanted to go home. I suspect, also, that he was discouraged and disappointed with catching nothing. It is embarrassing for a fisherman to come home with nothing. 

He said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets" (Luke 5:4-5). 

Jesus told Peter to go out into the deep water. The deep water of the Sea of Galilee measures 200 feet. There's no way, Peter probably thought, that his nets would go anywhere near down to those depths, and during the hot part of the day, that would be where the fish would be keeping cool. That would require a lot of nets, which is very unlikely that he had, but because Jesus had said so, he stepped out in obedience. Jesus was a carpenter/builder; what did He know about where the fish were and how to catch them? Peter was not expecting to catch one fish. After all, he was the expert when it came to fishing.

It can be scary to leave the place of the shallows to go into the deep, but that's where the big fish are. That's where we shall experience significant changes to our character and grow to be more like Jesus, and I think that is what all of us wants. I remember many years ago while I still worked on my father’s fishing boat with him (I used to be a commercial fisherman), the Lord spoke to me from the above verse, challenging me to leave my father’s fishing boat behind and follow Christ. I didn’t know anything other than being at sea. I just knew that I had to follow His leading. My intellect, or it could have been the enemy, said, “What on earth are you doing?” How are you going to earn a living now—you have never worked on the shore, never worked in an office, who’s going to employ you? You’ve never been to college to learn a trade.”

I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I had to leave my father’s boat behind and push out into the deep to see what God was going to make of me. I began washing windows for a living—it was a very humiliating time in my life, but learning humility was good for the soul, so I leaned into it and later became a painter and decorator while I studied the Word of God, listening to teaching tapes while I painted. I started my own painting business to support my family while church planting. Looking back, more than thirty-five years later, I can testify that God is well able to make of us what He wants us to be. 

When Peter responded to Jesus and went out into the deep, he caught a tremendous amount of fish. Afterward, the Lord called him to leave his nets and follow Him. You will never regret leaving the place where you are comfortable, to respond to Christ’s invitation; “Come, follow me.” The things of God come to those who respond in simple obedience. One would say, “How can I learn to minister like Jesus?” Respond to His call, do whatever he tells you to do. Jesus would say, “Come follow me, and I will make you to become...fishers of men." The primary way that we can develop a life of intimacy with Christ today is by spending time listening to Him and reading the Word of God, by prayer and seeking to draw near to God. Surround yourself with others who are encouragers and lovers of God. He will make you into the person you are to be and direct your life into one of fruitfulness. He who knows you best will invite you to walk with Him and work with Him. Keith Thomas