What Are You Waiting For?
We spend a lot of time in our lives waiting for things: Christmas, the “Big Day” and “Happily Ever After”, 9 long months for the birth of a child, the last day of school, the first day of school, the drive-thru at In-N-Out, guests to arrive, a new job, the traffic to move on the freeway, the test results to come back, “the other shoe to drop”…
Sometimes waiting in anticipation is the best part, but more often, waiting is hard.
Simon Peter knew all about waiting. Peter and his business partners fished all night and didn’t catch a thing. For a man who earned his livelihood from the fish he caught, it had to be a long night of waiting. Morning came and still the nets were empty. They pulled ashore and were cleaning their nets when Jesus asked to borrow a boat. It became a platform where Jesus taught the large crowd who had gathered by the shore to hear what he had to say (see Luke 5:1-11).
Sometimes I feel like Peter, sitting in my boat waiting for a catch of fish. And the night seems endless.
And sometimes, Jesus is waiting for me. “Put into deeper water and let down your nets for a catch”. Peter knew there was no fish there; he had fished all night. He knew it was the wrong time of day to fish; fish could see the nets and avoid them during the light of day. Peter told Jesus that they had fished all night and didn’t catch anything, but “because you said so, I will let down the nets”. Read that again: “Because you said so, I will”. What an amazing answer!
After Peter obeyed, he was rewarded with the largest catch of his career. The nets were so full that they began to break, so they called over another boat and both boats began to sink. Can you imagine the stories they had to tell? And then Jesus said, “From now on, you will fish for men.” And they left everything there on the beach and followed Jesus.
What? They left it all? They didn’t go sell the fish first? They left everything and followed Jesus.
What do you need to leave lying on the beach to follow Jesus? What arguments do you need to drop and obey the command Jesus has given you?
“Because you said so, I will work to please you and not others”.
“Because you said so, I will move my two high school kids to another state for my husband’s job.”
“Because you said so, I will love my husband unconditionally.”
“Because you said so, I will…” How do you need to fill in the blank?
What is Jesus waiting for?
What are you waiting for?