Important Things

Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God,

He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land (Luke 5:1-3, NASB).

Have you read the story in Luke 5:1-11 about Jesus and Simon Peter? Jesus came walking along the beach and preaching. He saw Simon and his brother cleaning their nets after a long fruitless day of fishing. So, He invited himself into Simon’s boat and instructed him to put out a little from shore so that He could teach the people gathered on the beach. Peter did so.

After teaching, Jesus turned to Simon and told him to let down his nets–right there–in shallow water. Simon obeyed, but only after instructing Jesus about what a silly and useless thing it was to do.

Suddenly all the fish in the lake rushed to fill the nets.

When Simon saw his nets beginning to break, he called desperately for help from his partners in the other boat. When both boats became overwhelmed by the size of the catch, Simon Peter threw himself at Jesus’ feet and worshipped Him. At this point Peter had a decision to make.

What would history be like if, after bringing in the amazing catch, Peter had said, “Praise God! Look at all these fish! Thank You, Jesus. You have made me rich. Now I will be able to afford a bigger boat, hire a few Samaritan laborers, and expand my business. Yes-sir-ee! What a blessing this is!”

“Well, here we are at the shore, Jesus. My partners and I have a lot of work to do cleaning all these fish, so if You don’t mind getting out… Watch Your step there; the water is still a bit deep. You don’t want to fall in and get all wet!”

“So, thanks again, Jesus. Don’t be a stranger now. Any time you want to use my boat as a pulpit, You just let me know. Say, we could do the whole ‘let down your nets’ thing again. That was a real crowd pleaser, don’t You think?”

“In fact, how about some time in the early part of the next fiscal quarter? That’s a slow period for the fishing business and my numbers could really use a lift! What do You say, Jesus?”

How often we get sidetracked by the impressive and miss the important.

God does a redemptive work in our business or relationships and we become so focused on the miracle that we miss the work that He wants to accomplish in us.

Thankfully, this time Peter didn’t miss it. The wonder of the miracle drove him to his knees before the Worker of the miracle. He responded to the glorious by humbling himself in worship. This act opened him up to Christ’s invitation to something astronomically more significant and eternal than a catch of fish.

Discomfort and challenging circumstances often drive us to God. But how do we handle the challenge of blessing?

God wants us to live good lives, to be happy and satisfied and fulfilled.

But His primary desire for each of us is an ever-deepening personal relationship with Him.

He knows that the only thing that will satisfy us and fulfill us is himself.

If we are constantly seeking the hand of God, we will miss the immeasurable blessing of seeing His face.

As we walk through the pressures of life today, as we pray through our list of needs and desires, as we see the abundant blessings that He has poured out upon us, let us be motivated in all circumstances to humble worship. In doing so, we will find the deeper and more enduring blessings that come from heeding His call and walking with Him.