A boatful of fish: attaining God's best
I never would have seen this on my own. A preacher (I listen to a lot of radio and YouTube sermons while I work) relayed this one day. It stuck with me because, well, don't we all want God's blessings? Jesus was preaching one day and was pressed upon sorely by the people, so He asked Peter (notice He asked) if He could stand in his boat while He preached so He didn't end up in the water. Peter said yes, and then Jesus gave Peter a command to put out his nets somewhere specific. So Peter did. He was fishing all day and didn't catch a thing. But he obliged and his nets were so full, they almost broke. We all know the story. It ends with Peter saying, "Go away from me, for I am a sinful man." The progression is so subtle I missed it all these years, but it speaks of how God blesses us.
It starts small. With an almost unnoticeable request. Do this little thing for me? Let me stand in your boat? Yes, Lord. Peter had been listening to Jesus preach so knew He was a man of authority and faith. Little did he know He was the Son of God. Then Jesus tells him to let his nets down somewhere. Here Peter was at the end of his fruitless day, surely discouraged and exhausted, but somehow was willing to do this larger request. It started small and now was onto something bigger. And an actual directive, as in, go cast your nets over there. Here was a carpenter/mason telling Peter how to fish. This was his livelihood. This preacher man knew nothing about fishing. Why should he listen to Him? But he did something he probably questioned internally and was greatly blessed. And then he realized this was a man of God (probably didn't recognize him as Christ yet) and repented of his sin right there on the spot and ended up following Christ. It's a great story, but I hadn't seen the simple and elegant principle of how God blesses us embedded in it.
God asks a small thing. God then directs us to do something bigger we will likely question, and in front of a crowd of people, no less. And then He blesses us when we are faithful. Peter didn't murmur. He didn't openly question. He just did it. Surely he heard Jesus preaching. He was right there. Maybe that had something to do with it. But the sign of the abundance of fishes taught him something. Obedience begets blessings. (There was also full-on repentance at the end and then further following Jesus.) If we are faithful in a little, God will give us more, bigger tasks with bigger blessings attached. But, He can't give us a blessing unless He knows we can handle it. My dad didn't give me a shotgun and hunting rifle until I passed my hunter's safety courses and proved I could safely handle weapons. I think I was 12 when I got the shotgun and 14 when I got the rifle. I still have both, not because they are great, but because they are sentimental. Actually, the rifle is pretty great, even after more than 30 years. A bad analogy, perhaps, but it works. My son likes to break toys, which makes me hesitant to buy him more. It's a logical thing. Take care of what you have, treat it right, and God will give you more and better.
I thought it was a brilliant message that preacher teased out of a few verses that day. I never would have seen it on my own. That's the value of preaching. And that is a gift. Thank you to whomever it was who preached that day. Sorry, forgot your name, but God will bless you no matter what. I hope someone else was blessed with this message, too. I was.
Thank you for reading. And God bless.
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