Simon and his friends fished full night and did not get any fish. Jesus asked Peter to ‘Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch”. Peter reluctantly obeyed but to his amazement caught a lot of fish. Peter fell at Jesus’ knees and cried “Go away from me, Lord, I am a sinful man.” Jesus said to him, “Do not be afraid. From now on, you will catch men.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

In this brief passage which narrates the miracles, there are deep and precious life lessons. There are factors that hinder our total commitment to God and consequent obedience to His call.

First obstacle is our own opinions about our capabilities , aptitudes and experiences. When Jesus asked Peter to cast the net in the deep, he could have thought what a carpenter knew about fishing, a field in which he alone was the master. He fully well knew that the best time for fishing was night, close to the shore. When Jesus asked him to launch the boats into the deep in the middle of the day, he obeyed though he, as an expect fisherman knew that it would not work. His obedience was not immediate and spontaneous. We need to be conscious of the intervention of our own experiences in the way of total commitment to God.

Next impediment to commitment was fatigue .Peter was tired and was not inclined very much to venture on another fishing risk. When we become physically worn out and emotionally drained, our mind loses its focus and following the word of God becomes tough. Peter didn’t give in to his fatigue but said that he would do so because “You said so”. Sometimes fatigue overcomes desire to obey.

Next, obstacle is fear of failure. The futile efforts of the past made him skeptical to undertake the fresh venture. But he took the risk because of his faith in the word of Jesus. Fear can be overcome by faith in God.

Peter was able to overcome all the factors that could have frozen his desire to follow Jesus. Basically he was a man chosen by Jesus. When he saw the huge catch he was surprised and wondered why Jesus chose to perform such a miracle in his life .He realized his unworthy state and cried that he was a sinful man. God desires to work in and through such people. When a person considers him -self highly unfit, God sees him as the fittest person to do his work. A person who is proud and confident is not preferred to perform His tasks. Brokenness and humility are vital components God looks for in His children.

We also read that they left all to fish, boats and net on the shore and followed Jesus. Jesus chose to perform the miracle to help them settle their priorities. Sometime God interferes in our plans and programmes and does something very awesome just to make us fix our priorities. The disciples’ focus became following Jesus. By the time God’s commission came to them, they were mature enough to make the decision and shift their focus. God leads us through certain experiences before He gives us His assignments.

Dr. (Mrs.) Edriana Jeyasingh