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 5:5
“Because you say so…”. Sometimes the things Jesus tells his disciples to do, don’t make any sense. Some of the things Jesus tells us to do, don’t seem to make any sense either. Love those who treat us badly (Luke 6:35). Pray for our enemies (Matthew 5:44). Don’t take offence (Matthew 17:27).
Furthermore, Jesus’ instructions came after his disciples had already “worked hard all night.” Maybe we’ve already worked hard at continuing in a relationship that’s difficult, worked hard at not saying the wrong thing, and worked hard at maintaining a peaceful disposition. His command to love others may be something we’ve already tried to do, but now in our current situation, it’s not working. Our attempts at reconciliation, or even simple friendship, may be completely ineffective and Jesus’ words may not be what we want to hear.
Jesus in effect says to Peter, “Try again. Forget your past failures (and even your past success) and do it again, just for me.” For Peter, the result was so overwhelming that he was suddenly aware of his own unworthiness to receive God’s blessing. Yet it ultimately led him to a greater understanding of God’s purpose for his life (verse 11).
God calls us to persevere, even when what we’re doing doesn’t seem to be working. All our hard work seems to produce no response. Yet we never know how close we are to a breakthrough. God will bless us if we persevere in obedience, even when our attitude lacks conviction and we think to ourselves, “I’m only doing this because he says so …”.
