I pretty much suck at fishing. Sure I know how to tie on lures, bait a hook…Heck, I can even cast left handed, a skill developed while Muskie fishing in northern Wisconsin with a left-handed relative. There was even a period where I’d spend actual money on gear to make my fishing attempts more enjoyable and more productive. But somehow, somewhere under the water’s surface, whatever I was tossing out there just wasn’t very appealing to whatever was swimming by. So I’ve pretty much given up on fishing in favor of a different, equally frustrating pastime – golf. At least when I swing the club, I can see the results of my efforts, good or bad.
The last few months though, I’ve been on a fishing trip of a different kind. Finding employment in today’s job climate, especially trying to shift career paths, is a lot like Muskie fishing up north. It often feels like I’m casting left-handed with the wrong lure on the end of the line. I might get the occasional “follow” – a preliminary HR interview, maybe even a bite with a second interview, but nothing that I can set the hook into. I know I’m not alone in this. I’m sure there are many of you out there in similar situations who can relate right now. It’s frustrating, discouraging, and there are days where the only thing that keeps me from total despair is the random Facebook reel that reminds me that God’s got a plan even when I can’t see it, and that He’s preparing me for something greater by giving me this incredibly difficult season of life. Gee, thanks Facebook!.
Lately I’ve been thinking about my situation in relation to some other fishermen a couple thousand years ago. Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John. These four early disciples of Jesus were all struggling fishermen in Galilee. Jesus comes upon these men in Luke 5, when He hops in Simon Peter’s boat and teaches from the bow. Afterward He instructs Peter to launch out into deeper waters and to let down the nets for a catch. At this point, Peter and Andrew were exhausted. They’d been fishing all night with zero success. The Chosen depicts this circumstance amid the heightened drama of Peter desperately trying to fish his way out of major tax trouble that was going to end up costing him his entire livelihood, his boat, and likely land him in prison.
While Luke’s gospel doesn’t provide that background, thanks to the show, one can imagine the depths of frustration and desperation that must have gripped Peter’s mind in these circumstances. His literal life was hanging in the balance and here was this stranger, this rabbi commandeering his boat and then telling him to get back out on the sea, where he’d just spent an entire exhausting, futile, sleepless night, and fish some more. As worn out as job hunting can make one feel in today’s market, I’m sure it’s nothing compared to the exhaustion those soon-to-be disciples felt.
Yet, when Jesus gives Peter this directive, Luke makes it clear in verse 5 that Peter really didn’t hesitate. “Nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.” (Luke 5:5 – KJV) What happens next is something that God seems to always do throughout scripture, namely providing above and beyond any human expectation. Peter’s nets were overloaded with fish – so much so that they would have broken had not James and John been close at hand with their boat to come help take in the multitude of fish. Even then there were so many that both their boats began to sink.
It was a life-changing moment for those four men. And it started with an act of obedience. An act of faith. An act of surrender. Peter was an experienced fisherman. No doubt he could tell when conditions were good for a catch and when they weren’t. And I’m sure that previous night wasn’t the first all-nighter he’d pulled out on the Sea of Galilee that ended up with nothing to show for it. He could have easily told this strange man standing in his boat, “Nope, I’m done.” But he didn’t. He gave it one more cast, and that cast changed his life.
Once again, we see an example of God waiting until someone was totally spent, at rock bottom, out of options. Jesus knew Peter’s struggle before He ever set foot on his boat. God could have easily provided the same miracle earlier in the night, supernaturally bailing Pete out of his mess under cover of darkness. But there was more waiting for Peter and his fellow fishermen than just a boatload of fish. That would have just been a great fishing day. Business as usual, maybe at it’s best. Jesus had so much more in store for Peter and his buddies than just a successful fishing trip. Far beyond their immediate material need, He brought them to a place of spiritual transformation. That life-sucking night gave way to a life-changing day.
Like me right now, you may be feeling a lot like Peter after that night. Nothing’s happening. All effort seems fruitless, and the brink of personal brokenness seems imminent. What do we do? We can give up, citing the lack of any results as proof that the fishing just isn’t going to pan out for us. Or we can set out and try another cast. We can surrender and obey, and most of all, trust. Trust that God is there in the boat with us. That He sees our struggle, our frustration, our exhaustion. And we can set out again into the deep waters of uncertainty, letting our nets down, despite all our lack of anything to show for past efforts. Because just like the disciples, God likely has so much more in store for us too. He knows our material needs. More importantly though, He knows our spiritual needs, and He knows the people He’s created us to become.
So in these challenging seasons, more than ever we need to consider what God is really doing in our lives. Even if we have no idea what His greater purpose is for us, or why our current struggles are necessary, we can make one more cast, in faith. Because with Jesus, the next cast just might bring life-changing results.