Kidzablaze Devotions

Luke 5:1-11

1 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;

2 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.

3 And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat.

4 When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, ``Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch."

5 Simon answered and said, ``Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets."

6 When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break;

7 so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink.

8 But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus' feet, saying, ``Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!"

9 For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken;

10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, ``Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men."

11 When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

Romans 8:28

28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Today’s passage takes place on the Sea of Galilee after the optimal time of the day for fishing has passed. The fishermen are cleaning their nets along the shore. But at Jesus’ request, one lowers his into the water. All of Peter’s expertise tells him that fishing at such an hour will be useless, but he does what Jesus asked. And the reward for his trust is a record-breaking (and net-breaking) catch.

As believers, we want to be like the disciple, overcoming our doubts and courageously following God. But sometimes, if what He’s asking of us seems unreasonable, we might rely on human logic to decide whether to trust Him. There could also be a tendency to hesitate in situations for which our knowledge or experience seems to contradict His plan.

There is a time for seeking knowledge and godly counsel, but when the Lord makes His will clear, we are meant to act (Psalm 119:60). No opinion matters except that of the Lord, who promises to always be working for our good (Romans 8:28)—and who never makes mistakes.

The next time you find yourself doubting, think about what is causing you to hesitate. Then you can pray specifically to overcome the faith hurdle, knowing that God blesses the steps we take to follow Him.