Seize the day - part 2

The Gospel of Luke 5:4-8 tells the story of the disciples fishing all night (“we toiled all night”) and caught nothing. Jesus gets in the boat and says, “Put out into the deep…” Peter and the other fishermen knew Lake Gennesaret like the back of their hands. They knew where you can and cannot find fish. They also knew that during certain seasons you didn’t take your boat beyond a quick retreat to land, safe harbor, because of the violent storms which can build in a very short period of time.

Along comes their teacher and friend, Jesus … a carpenter … telling them to go into deeper waters. It is as if he is stating, “Go where you are not prepared to go. Go out where it is a little dangerous. Break with what you already know and try it differently. Seize the day and try it my way … follow my instructions and you just might be surprised at the blessing.”

I can almost hear Peter respond with, “Well, Jesus, do you really know what you are asking us to do? We have traditionally fished these waters and I think we know where we can catch fish. This is the way we have always done it. This is the way our fathers and grandfathers did it. It has always worked in the past.”

“Go out into deeper water.”

“Deeper water” is where life can be a little more than treacherous. “Deeper water” is away from what is safe and predictable. “Deeper water” is loaded with challenges – physical, mental and spiritual. “Deeper water” is outside of our safety zones … outside of where we are comfortable … outside of where we feel safe and secure ... ahead of our abilities … beyond our gifts and talents … And yet, “deeper water” is where the opportunity to seize the day awaits us.

Then Jesus said, “Do it again!” Do what you have already done, but do it where I have instructed you to do it. Do what you have been doing all night, but do it under my direction. Do what you have toiled hard to accomplish, but do it where it isn’t safe and predictable. Just do it again … do it again … do it again! AND, their nets were so full of fish that they nearly broke and backup boats had to be called since the catch was so massive.

Oh, the blessings that God has in store for us if we simply launch out beyond our safety zones … into the deeper waters of life … following his instructions … our life will not be able to hold all of the blessings that our soul’s net will capture.

Seize the day and the blessings will come! But seize the day not because there is a desire to be blessed, but simply because Jesus instructs us all to go out into deeper water!

Quote for today: Peter T. Forsythe was right when he said, "The first duty of every soul is to find not its freedom but its Master". Warren W. Wiersbe