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When he had finished speaking, [Jesus] said to Simon,\xa0\u201cPut out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.\u201d Simon answered, \u201cMaster,\xa0we\u2019ve worked hard all night and haven\u2019t caught anything.\xa0But because you say so, I will let down the nets.\u201d When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.\u201d \xa0So, they signalled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. (Luke 5:4-7)

Luke\u2019s story of the call of Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John is the only place in the gospels where the story of the miraculous catch of fish is also found.\xa0 In the gospels of Matthew and Mark when they are called it seems like they abruptly leave everything and follow Jesus. Luke however lingers.\xa0 There\u2019s something more that he wants to tell us.\xa0

In Luke\u2019s gospel, this is not Simon Peter\u2019s first encounter with Jesus. Jesus had already been to Peter\u2019s home in Capernaum where he healed his mother-in-law (Luke 4:38-39).\xa0 Perhaps this gives a better picture as to Peter\u2019s willingness to let Jesus use his fishing boat as a floating pulpit in verse 3.\xa0 The call of Peter and his partners wasn\u2019t an act of blind faith here as he lets down his nets for \u201cone more try.\u201d\xa0 He was acting in faith on what he had already seen and experienced.

That\u2019s what it\u2019s like to follow Jesus in faith and trust.\xa0 Knowing what we have seen and heard with our own eyes and ears and hearts.\xa0 It can\u2019t have been an easy night for the fishermen.\xa0 I\u2019m sure they were weary from the long, thankless night of fishing, dejected because they hadn\u2019t caught a single fish.\xa0 The one thing on their side perhaps is that a storm hadn\u2019t sprung up during the final watch of the night, which was a common occurrence.\xa0 But Jesus had something He wanted to show them, and it wasn\u2019t simply for the sake of displaying His power.

Jesus wanted to teach Peter, Andrew, James and John a lesson.\xa0 Yes, they had endured a long, hard night, they were at the end of their shift and were ready to head home with empty pockets and empty hands.\xa0 But Jesus wanted to show them what abundance truly looked like.\xa0 And then Jesus wanted them to follow Him.\xa0 Luke doesn\u2019t tell us that the four fishermen took time to sell their catch or enjoy the abundance in some other way.\xa0 No, instead \u201cas soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus\u201d (Luke 5:11).

They followed Him into costly learning with long hours, confusing at times, exhilarating at others, depleting, tiresome and full of pain and suffering too. They followed Him because of His sovereignty.\xa0 They followed Him because of His authority.\xa0 They followed Him because they saw in Him what they had been searching for their whole lives.\xa0 Jesus Christ, their Lord, their Messiah, their God.

\u201cListen to my voice and trust what I tell you and I will show you what it means to be my disciple\u201d Jesus was saying to them. Later Peter writes, \u201cSo if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you\u201d (1 Peter 4:19).

God will never fail us.\xa0 When we feel like we are weary from the journey, when the pain or the suffering seems insurmountable, when the longest nights seem like our truest reality, it is there that Jesus meets us and says, \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid!\u201d (Luke 5:10) Follow me.

Jesus has authority and sovereignty over all things in heaven and on earth.\xa0 When we forget these truths, we take the weight of the world, of our vocations, our families, our health, our finances all on our shoulders. \xa0We miss the abundance that God provides because we refuse to step out in faith to listen to what He says to us.\xa0 Because it doesn\u2019t always make sense.\xa0 Because we\u2019re weary.\xa0 Because sometimes the odds are stacked against us.\xa0

God won\u2019t always let us rest in that abundance, as with the four disciples, but it is a reminder of the sovereign hand of God in our lives. Guiding us and shaping our hearts and our minds more into His likeness. Jesus also has sovereignty over our hearts.\xa0 But more on that next week.