In order to catch what Jesus is fishing for, we need to push ourselves into the deeper waters of life. When he finished teaching, he said to Simon, Push out into deep water and let your nets out for a catch. (Luke 5:4) I recently realized the irony of this story: Jesus, a carpenter by trade, tells a fisherman (albeit one who didn’t catch anything all night long), that he needs to cast his nets in deeper water. Peter, who had unsuccessfully cast his nets through the night, was willing to listen to a carpenter, and to try again where there was an undeniable possibility of failure. When you read the whole story in the Bible, it is clear that Peter had fished all night in the deep waters, prior to meeting Jesus by the shallow end. In fact, you might even say that the only reason Peter heeded Jesus’ advice and forayed into the deeper waters for a second time, is because he was desperate. Desperate to catch something so his family could eat, desperate to avoid the shame of failure, desperate to see the fruit of his hard labor. Upon following Jesus’ words, Peter was able to bring in an incredible amount of fish: his nets became so heavy with the catch that that they were breaking! Peter would not have yielded such a great catch if he didn’t try again. Moreover, Peter would not have been blessed with the catch had he chosen to eschew the deeper waters for the calm of the shallows. I know it is our tendency to shrink closer and closer when we fail, or when we are disappointed. We do this in our relationships, our businesses, our careers, our confidence, our academics. I, myself, could not condemn you if you took less risks. But Jesus wants you to push out deeper when you are disappointed and have previously failed. The only difference is that he wants you to push out deeper with Him. We need to push ourselves deeper into the waters of life, to yield the results that Jesus brings us. Push out into the deep today.
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