Big Blessings

Simon says, “Master we’ve worked….”

Into the night, the fisherman did what they knew how to do but still got nothing. Days like this come for all of us.

Remember the old game of Simon Says?! If Simon didn’t say it and you did it, you were out. If Simon did say it and you did what he said, then you were safe. Luke 5:5 tells us what Simon said to Jesus. People had been crowding around Him listening to the Word of God. Jesus got into the boat belonging to Simon and asked him to put out a little from shore. Simon may or may not have listened to Jesus’ whole teaching. He was probably completely drained of energy due to working all night.

When Jesus says to go deeper with something, we need to do what He says even if Simon did not say it! But here, Simon says “Because You say so, I will.” This characteristic of being willing was about to bring a big blessing. As Peter let the nets down, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. They signaled their partners in the other boat to come help. Both boats were now full.

When Jesus gets in it, what is empty fills up. It runs over. It gets into somebody else’s empty. It loads them down with big blessings. We can grumble about how we can’t make it happen. We can complain that all our hard work doesn’t pay off and there’s nothing to show for it or we can get Jesus to teach us. We can listen to what He says. We can do what He says. Obedience to Jesus brings astonishing blessings. (Luke 5:8-11.) If you’re mentally and emotionally drained and have worked as hard as you know to work, maybe it is time to go deeper again. With Jesus in your boat. Let Him be the blessing you need. And let Him bring the big blessings to you. He’ll quadruple what you can accomplish. He will cause the “big catch.” He wants to be a blessing. He desires to do the big things. Perhaps that day, Jesus was teaching about endurance. He can teach whatever lesson we need at the exact moment we come up short. Big blessings often precede conviction, astonishment, adoration, surrender and life change. It’s never just about fish is it?!