1590 Because You Say So

If you were to launch this year, what would that mean for you? If you were to go all-in, holding nothing back, really have your take off, and break free from the shallows of living, what would life look like for you?

Within scripture is a story of Jesus calling a fisherman to launch. Simon was a professional fisherman and he had a really bad day at work. You ever just have one of those bad days where nothing goes right and the things that should work don’t? Yeah, that was how it had been for Simon. Simon pulls his boat up on the shore and is washing his nets which means he’s done. He’s packing it up and going home. He had tried all he knew to try and was catching nothing.

Then comes Jesus.

Someone listening right now has tried all they know to try. You’ve done the things which worked in the past, and it’s not working now. You’re discouraged. You’re frustrated, and you’re ready to pull this boat up on the shore and call it quits. Then comes Jesus. Today, right here right now, to get in your boat. And when Jesus gets in your boat, some things start changing!

Are you ready for Jesus to get in your boat? Are you ready for him to help you make a change and have that change stick this time? Are you ready for your breakthrough? Are you ready to follow through? Are you ready to launch?

Jesus gets into Simon’s boat and says hey, let’s go back out. Now remember, Simon was frustrated after a long unsuccessful day fishing. This wasn’t fishing for leisure, this was fishing for livelihood. If Simon didn’t catch fish, Simon didn’t get paid. All his time, all his efforts for nothing.

I bet you’ve had a similar experience. You put in the time and you put in the effort, and it didn’t seem to pay off. You tried the relationship. You tried the diet. You tried being authentic. You tried biting your tongue. You tried to have faith. You tried to surrender. And no matter what you did, it didn’t work. So here you are today, disappointed with your progress. Frustrated with the delay. Questioning your ability to really make this year any different.

And what does Jesus say? Let’s get back in the boat.

So Simon takes Jesus out where he had been fishing all night long with no success. And Jesus says in Luke 5:4 “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

Launch out into the deep.

And what happens next?

Don’t jump ahead in the story just because you know where it’s going .. because the truth is, in your story, you don’t know where it’s going yet. So let’s keep it real. What happens when Jesus says to Simon “launch out into the deep and let your nets down for a catch”?

Simon says “Come on dude, I’ve already tried this. It didn’t work. There’s no fish here man. But okay, whatever you say.”

That’s the reality of it. Jesus, what you’re saying doesn’t make sense. I feel like I’ve already tried this. I’ve been here before and it didn’t work for me.

This is the place where you start questioning if there’s something wrong with you. Why won’t this work for you? Why can’t you be successful? Why can you just not seem to make anything work? And sometimes this is where we get stuck.

God tells you to go back out and try again, but you’re not willing to try again because of past experiences that tell you it won’t work. But honey you’re dealing with God … you think he isn’t Lord over your situation?