Every so often I hear someone say that they are hesitant to ask prayer for a relatively minor personal issue they have. They say that they don’t want to “bother God” with their minor problems when He has all of the “big” issues in the world to take care of, such as pandemics, wars, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc. Do we ever feel that God can’t be bothered with our day-to-day concerns? Let’s take a look today at a day in the life of the Apostle Peter, and how Jesus cared about the day he was having.
As we begin reading our Scripture passage, it was morning, and Jesus was by the Sea of Galilee (called by Luke with the name of Lake Gennesaret here). In order to effectively be seen and heard by the crowds that were gathering around to hear Him preach, Jesus got into Simon Peter’s boat, which was anchored along the shoreline (vs. 1-3). Then He proceeded to teach the crowds God’s message.
Peter, along with his brother Andrew, and his friends James and John, were commercial fishermen. They had spent the whole previous night out upon the lake fishing. However, they were quite unsuccessful that night, and brought no fish back. Fishing was their livelihood, not just a hobby or pastime, so coming back with no fish in their boats was a financial loss. One night without any fish would not mean they would likely starve, but if this happened several times in a row, it could spell a major financial hardship. One night without a catch, though, might mean that a bill might not get paid that week, as that was like a day without pay.
As Jesus began His preaching, Peter and his companions were off to the side washing their nets, and repairing any tears or snags in them. They were careful and serious fishermen who knew their trade well. As Peter sat there, off to the side, he was probably listening to Jesus’s message, as well as working. Peter was quite familiar with Him, having known Jesus since his brother Andrew introduced the two after Jesus’s baptism (John 1:40-42). Peter, though, was undoubtedly feeling discouraged, depressed, and possibly even a bit angry or upset.
When Jesus finished His message, He turned to Peter and told him to return to his boat and go back out into the lake for a catch (vs. 4). By now it was probably late morning, the sun higher up in the sky, and the temperature was warming up. Peter, as an experienced fisherman, knew that during the day, when the water warmed up some, the fish would go down deeper to the bottom of the lake. He had just spent hours the night before fishing, and had caught nothing. Now he was tired, work was over for the day, and he wanted to go home to sleep. Jesus’s orders did not make any sense, but Peter obeyed anyway (vs. 5).
Peter was obedient, but it was with very little faith. However, the Lord honored his obedience, and they immediately caught so many fish that the nets were in danger of breaking. The catch was so large that Peter had to summon his partners to come with their boat to help them bring all the fish in (vs. 6-7). Peter’s obedience led to nets that were overflowing with fish. By saying yes to the Lord’s plan, he experienced both material and spiritual blessings. This was a miracle, and Peter knew that he was in the presence of the Holy One of God (vs. 8). He was aware of his sinfulness and God’s all-holiness.
Peter knew that Jesus had healed the sick, and cast out demons. Now he saw how Jesus cared about his day-to-day life, his livelihood, his family, and understood his needs. His blessing to Peter wasn’t a mediocre one, or one that would just barely help out. It was an abundant blessing, one that overflowed the nets. God not only cared about Peter and his needs that day, He cares equally about us today. God is no respecter of persons, and He does not show partiality (Romans 2:11). The same love and care He showed to Peter, He will show to us. This care isn’t just for salvation, though that is most certainly important. Jesus cares about our daily needs, as well. The omnipotent God is never overwhelmed with the problems of the world, and just as He cared enough to provide a boat full of fish for Peter after a night of nothing, He cares about each personal need we have today. Let down your nets of faith to bring in the blessings that the Lord has for you today.
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