“We worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets” (Luke 5:5, NASB).
These were the words of Peter. He was responding to Jesus’ instructions: ”Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for catch” (verse 4).
Peter and his fishing partners had just concluded fishing in the same waters. They had fished all night long. They failed to catch anything. And now Jesus tells them to go and let down their nets into those same waters for a catch.
Even though what the Lord instructed Peter and his partners to do made no sense. Although it defied human logic. Peter chose to obey the Lord and down his net again.
Understand, that these men were not novices. They were fishermen. They were confident the fish were not biting in those waters. It must have been humbling to do what Jesus asked them to do since they had just done the same.
Trusting the Word of God When It Makes No Sense
A similar analogy can be made regarding the Word of God. I am convinced that if everything the Lord tells us to do in His Word has to make sense to us, we will have serious trouble walking with Him. As Peter did, we just have to trust the Word of God. Peter and his partners were greatly blessed for their obedience:
“When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and they nets began to break.”
Verse 6
Now consider this. We often say insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. But what about when the Lord tells you to do the same thing but to expect different results? In the case above He did that, Peter obeyed, and both ships began to sink from the load of the catch!
Peter’s response challenges us to trust the Word of God even when what He says seems to go contrary to reality. To do this, we must be more moved by what we believe than by what we see or what seems logical. Remember, “We walk by faith not by sight) (2 Corinthians 5:7).
We are constantly bombarded by this world’s campaign. We must not allow the world to indoctrinate us to become like the world and to think like the world. This will in turn compromise our ability to live by faith in God. To counteract this assault, we must remain deeply rooted in the Word of God.
We live in turbulent times. The good news is that even in times like these we can trust the Word of God. He knows how to bring His Word to pass even when what He says makes no sense to us. Even when His instructions defy logic. Blessed are those who obey Him—nevertheless.
Copyright © 2022 by Frank King. All rights reserved.