I had not noticed there were two boats.
James and John had just finished the night’s fishing with their colleagues and had dragged their empty boat to shore to clean their unproductive fishing nets.
Their friend, Peter, was doing the same with his boat and crew. But suddenly this man, Jesus, stepped into Peter’s boat and asked him to shove him a bit off shore so he could address the crowd that had gathered.
After speaking to the crowd, Jesus asked Peter to launch his boat into deeper water to catch some fish. James and John were observing all this from the other boat and probably thought this to be a very crazy idea. After all, they had been fishing with Peter all night and had caught nothing. The fish weren’t biting.
But it didn’t take long for them to see the difference the presence of Jesus makes in a situation.
Their partner, even with some misgivings, obeyed Jesus…and reaped an amazing reward! Peter yelled for James and John to bring their boat to help bring in the enormous amount of fish…which they did in stunned belief.
Having experienced this miracle first-hand, when back on shore the fishermen left everything they had and followed Jesus. They were the first recruits of the twelve disciples and the rest is, as they say…well, you know.
So, what does this story mean for us today?
There are several practical applications…but something in particular stands out to me. Timid obedience is better than bold disobedience.
God may ask me to do something that doesn’t make sense – is illogical. After all, I am the one with the expertise. 🙂 But sometimes, regardless of its appearance, I must step out on faith and trust that God knows what He’s doing.
The safest place to be is in the middle of God’s will – no matter what.
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