Go fish – if he says so

The opportunity opened up unexpectedly. Now it was up to me: yes or no.

Which should I decide?

“No” was safer . . .
It was surer. It carried less potential for controversy, now and later. It would be understood and accepted.

. . . while “yes” had an edge.
It was dangerous. It birthed discomfort and uncertainty. It might be a daring act of love, but not all would see it that way.

I decided to lay it down for awhile on this Monday night, and go meet my friends for an open dive into the Word.

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The story was read. It was Jesus telling Simon, “Push the boat out further to the deep water, and you and your partners let down your nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4).

I could hear the frustration in Simon’s reply, “Master, we worked hard all night long and caught nothing” (Luke 5:5). “But if you say so, I will let down the nets.”

I imagined the rest. The flurry of activity as fish crowded into the nets. The smell of sweat and salt and the catch. The dependence upon partners’ muscles pulling the load out of the water.

But as the story was read a third time, I was caught off guard.

I heard the invitation no longer to Simon, but to me . . .

Was God also asking me to go further and cast deeper?

Against my conscious will, my impending decision from earlier in the day immediately returned to mind. I knew I was being asked to continue wrestling with it. With Love himself.

“Master, I’ve worked hard to row out this far; can’t I rest comfortably here a bit longer? Isn’t this enough?”

But even though the wrestling wouldn’t end for days, I caught a glimpse immediately of the appropriate answer, “Yes, I will let down the nets, if you say so.”

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I hadn’t planned on a fishing excursion that Monday night, but God took me on one anyway.

Going further.
Casting deeper.
Answering, “Yes, if you say so.”

* * *

We can’t predict what God wants to say to us when we listen to his words. How has he caught you off guard lately?