“When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out in to the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered and said to Him “Master we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net” Luke 5:4-5

This passage begins with Jesus pressed by a multitude on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and looking for a way in which he could speak God’s Word to the crowd, stepped into Simon Peter’s fishing boat. Simon and the others were busy washing their nets after a night of fishing with no return. I doubt that Simon was the first person to ever go fishing and not get a catch (It’s the story of my life too), but this was Simon’s livelihood at stake, bills would need to be paid, provision for family and friends all dependent on his ability to catch fish and sell them at market to provide for himself and his extended family. You can’t help but be moved by Simon’s story and the situation he finds himself in – for many of us we have also found ourselves squeezed by life and faith starts to be replaced by fear, negativity erodes our positive “can do attitudes” and worry starts to overwhelm us until in despair we give up!

I love this fragment of Scripture because it says to me that; “Even when I have given up – God hasn’t!” Our Father can “make a way where there seems no way” and sometimes we are so consumed by our woes and heartaches that we become entrapped washing our nets that we are not even aware that salvation is walking in our midst. When everything around us has failed, when we have come to the end of our own strength and abilities - this is when we have to lean on the merciful arms of our Heavenly Father and know that he hasn’t given up on us – Hallelujah. Don’t give up on God – because he hasn’t given up on us! God always has a plan. Even though the statement has taken on a connection with a large American Ministry – “One word from God can change your life!” For Simon, that one Word from Jesus that asked him to once more let down his nets, even though all his previous toil had yielded no results, was not only life changing for Simon but world changing!

Dear friends, if you have given up on the situations you find yourself in, don’t give up on God! If you have given up on those around, don’t give up on God! If you have given up on life and allowed the disappointments and failures to overwhelm you, don’t give up on God - Because God has not given up on you! I pray that you will find yourself able to lean on the promises of our faithful Heavenly Father and see things change in your life.

Much love and blessings to each of you our faithful and fruitful friends.
Jeffrey