At Your Word

And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

Matthew 4: 18 - 20 NKJV 

He had been at it all night long.  Toiling in the waters he and Andrew had fished for so long.  Yet, despite all of their efforts, they had nothing but empty nets to show for it.  Now, after a long night pulling empty nets, Simon must have come ashore dejected at their lack of success.  But there, standing on the shoreline, was the man who would change his life forever.  "Let down your nets for a catch," the man told him.  Simon protested, he knew these waters well and no fish meant no fish.  Finally, he gave in, "At your word" he said as he and Andrew lowered their nets over the side.  At His word indeed.  What came next was more fish than he and his brother could pull into the boat.  Who was this man who's spoken word led to the biggest catch these fishermen had ever seen?  He...is Jesus.  Simon and Andrew were impressed enough that they immediately set out to follow Jesus when He called them.  But the question remains, what was it that Simon Peter saw in Jesus that day that he would trust in Him?  Jesus was the son of a carpenter; but He was no fisherman.  Long before electronic fish finders, Jesus knew that by simply speaking it into being, that the nets of these fishermen would be filled to overflowing.  But Simon didn't know that.  Yet he trusted this man at His word.  What I like about the story of Jesus calling Simon and Andrew is the trust they showed in Jesus from the beginning.  In fact, the scriptures tell us that when Jesus called them, they immediately dropped their nets and followed Him {Matthew 4:30}.  Simon and Andrew put a lot of faith in a guy who wasn't even a fisherman.  When was the last time you did that?  If you were so hell bent on doing something and you knew in your heart that you were right, would you take Jesus at His word?  These two fishermen did.  

So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.  "For assuredly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'be moved and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.  "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." 

Mark 11: 22 - 24 NKJV 

Growing up, one of my favorite hobbies was building model airplanes.  I remember one Christmas, my mother had bought me a large-scale model of a North American P-51 Mustang.  Well, this model kit had a million pieces to it, and being the kid that I was, I ignored the label which said that this kit was "For experienced modelers."  As I set out to build my airplane, I suddenly found myself out of my league.  However, nobody was going to tell this kid that I couldn't build my airplane!  My mother offered to help, but I refused and continued on my quest.  Some who know me know that once I set my mind on a project, everything else gets put on the back burner.  No multi taskers allowed here!  I get a feeling that this is what things were like for Simon that day on the Sea of Galilee.  Simon was a fisherman, and here was this stranger suddenly telling him how to do his job.  Who was this guy?  Perhaps Simon knew of Jesus as the carpenter's son that he was.  Perhaps he had heard of the reputation of this man who was now telling him to lower his nets.  We know that Simon and Andrew were religious, most likely Jews by faith.  They certainly knew of the concept of faith, but blind faith?  Faith not based upon that which they could see for themselves?  That was a big issue then and for us today as well.   But when we get so busy doing what we do, oblivious to everything else around us, we can take a lesson from a fisherman.  Step back and listen for the still voice of Jesus as He guides us.  At your word Lord.  

~Scott~