Written by Leena Abraham

“But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” Luke 5:5

In this chapter of Luke, we see that Simon Peter has had a weary night of fallen expectations. As a fisherman, he knows that his work involves extended hours of waiting on a potential catch that may never be seen. This night in particular, he had cast his net many times, only to be completely disappointed in the results. Yet Jesus comes and tells him to try once again – to let his net down just one more time. Simon’s reply is what makes it so obvious to us why Jesus saw something special in this man. Peter first acknowledges with honesty his tiredness, his frustration and his hopelessness in the situation.  Yet, the turning point of his response is in his final words of obedience. He says “…nevertheless, at Your word I will let down the net.” Despite his own experience of failure, he chooses to submit to Jesus’ command.  Jesus doesn’t promise him success, or even a great reward for this repeated effort. Simon’s reason for casting his net again was simply because Jesus had told him to.

We know the all too familiar pang of disappointment – to have expected something that has instead slipped through our fingers. We understand working hard, and yet despite our most dedicated efforts, to be faced only with our own failures.  Opening our calloused hands, we see only empty palms. We often hold tight to our fruitless efforts and dashed hopes as a badge of how we have been victimized, abandoned and wronged. Finally, we decide that walking away from the losing battle is better than continuing to feel the pain of disappointment again. We are all guilty of prayers that are usually too full of copious requests and long lists of grievances to have room for the final cry of “…nevertheless, I will obey”.  Focusing on a specific moment or a certain pain, we cling to the hollow belief that we deserved more and we deserved better. The unfortunate result is that paralyzed by our own fear of being disappointed again, we become spiritually stagnant.

If we finish reading this passage, we’ll see that Simon’s obedience to Jesus’ command results in an abundant catch for this poor fisherman. Soon after, Jesus promises him that there are even greater things awaiting him – that he will be a fisher of men! It is due to our spiritual nearsightedness that we often can’t see God’s plan unfolding through the lessons He teaches us; that we miss the unveiling of the providence of an all-knowing God. It is through our pain that we learn to search for comfort in Him. It is through our insufficiency that we understand completeness in Him. It is through our failures that we grow to maturity in Christ. Are we willing to miss out on the promises of our Savior because we instead chose to cling to our own shortcomings? As Simon chose to cast his net one more time, we are also called to put our hurts aside in order to be obedient to the call of our Lord. When we are ready to lift our eyes to our King and say “Yes, Lord, I was hurt and disappointed, but nevertheless, I will press on”, we will see the glory behind our own empty nets.