“If You Say So”

4 When he finished teaching, he said to Simon, "Push out into deep water and let your nets out for a catch."  

5 Simon said, "Master, we've been fishing hard all night and haven't caught even a minnow. 

But if you say so, I'll let out the nets." 6 It was no sooner said than done—a huge haul of fish, 

straining the nets past capacity.  Luke 5:4-6

I was reading a new devotional book recently and the passage for the day was Luke 5:1-11.  This is the story about Jesus teaching from the shoreline and then he directs Simon Peter to cast off from shore and go fishing.  Simon’s response is interesting.  He first tells Jesus the obvious.  I’ll paraphrase, “We’ve been out there fishing all night and haven’t caught a thing.”  In our walk with the Lord many believers STOP here!  After the Lord leads and directs us—we in turn give Him our best argument as to why we shouldn’t do what He is directing us to do.

Simon had his argument ready.  He knew the area.  He’d fished that lake for years.   He had the primo fishing spots.  He knew when and where to let down his nets.  We don’t really know for sure all the thoughts that may have run through Simon’s head after Jesus instructed him to “Push out into the deep water and let your nets out for a catch.”  But scripture does record Simon’s follow-up to this statement.  He said, “…But if you say so, I'll let out the nets."

 Every Sunday School kid knows the rest of this story.  The nets were lowered and when they pulled them out of the water they were so full of fish the nets were breaking.  Simon had to call for more boats to help transport all the fish back to shore. 

This is one of those “Amazing” things the Lord did.  This week the Lord may have something Amazing in store for you.  Will you stop short of your miracle or will you say as Simon did, “…if you say so…” and not miss the miracle.  I wonder how many times I’ve missed the “net full of fish” because I STOPPED. 

“If You Say So”

By Beverly Roberts