It’s a beautiful sunny morning here in central Arkansas, and I woke up with fishing on my mind. I love to fish. I always have. My Daddy took me fishing once I was big enough to hold a pole. We had a favorite creek bank that we snuck off to anytime my mama wasn’t paying attention. It was our thing, and I never went without thinking of him, missing him, and longing to see him again. The memories are so precious and so vivid. My second Daddy (my father-in-law) was a fisherman as well. Before I joined the family, he was a commercial fisherman. When he came into my life, I told him of my love for fishing, and he began to take me with him. We spent many hours in boats. It was a different kind of fishing with him because he was in it for the fish, and we would stay all day waiting for the fish to bite. Some days we came home exhausted and sore with nothing to show for our efforts, but some days we came home with our legal limits of fish. On the days when there was no harvest, we spent more time getting to know one another. He had a troubled past and many regrets and felt comfortable sharing things with me. I was a believer, but not as vocal about Jesus as I am now. But I knew God was prompting me to tell him about His loving grace and forgiveness for those who turned to Him in repentance. So, I did. He just listened, and we didn’t talk much about God after that. But the seeds were planted.
On the days that the harvest was great, we laughed a lot and enjoyed the thrill of fishing and each other’s company. As I walked through these precious memories this morning about my earthly fathers, my Heavenly Father reminded me of Jesus’ words in Matthew when He called Peter, James, and John to leave their boats and follow Him so He could make them fishers of men. He caused me to see how He has turned me into a fisher of men and how it’s like all those fishing trips in my past. Sometimes, this task seems long and difficult and has no tangible results. But if we just keep fishing and following Jesus’ commands, we will reap a harvest like these men did in Luke’s account of this story. They had fished all night with not a single catch. They were tired and just wanted to go home and rest.
I feel this way sometimes, too. I know you do as well. Fishing for men can be just as frustrating as trying to find those sometimes elusive fish. Trying to decide what bait to use because they won’t bite on anything you offer can make you want to just give up. There have been people in my life who, no matter what I tried to say or do, just wouldn’t be lured in. It sometimes seemed pointless. I just couldn’t understand why my best efforts weren’t productive. But I have walked with Jesus long enough for Him to teach me how to properly fish. You see, I don’t know where the fish are. I don’t know what they are hungry for. But He does. My job is to just keep my eyes on Him and obey His commands.
Then just like He did with Peter, He’ll tell me where to cast my nets and at the end of the day, the harvest will be overflowing. I look back on my life and see that He was always working even when I felt like a failure at this fishing thing. Don’t give up, my friend. Don’t grow weary. Keep casting those nets. Because just like my father-in-law did, the ones you so desperately want to get in the boat will eventually taste and see that the Lord is good. Just keep your eyes on Him. Cast where He tells you to cast, and at the end of the day, the bounty will be so full that it will all be worth it, and you can just rejoice in a job well done.
(Luke 5:4-11 NLT) “When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.” “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking. When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed. Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.”
