Put Out Into the Deep

"Put out into the deep..." 

Luke 5:4

When my youngest sister Tina got married in 2016 to Patrick, an American living in Tokyo, it was a big change for her. Tina lived a protected life here, surrounded by family, friends, and a Christian community. Leaving everything familiar behind was certainly a decision to put out into the deep waters of the unknown.

When Jesus got into Simon's boat, at the edge of Lake Gennesaret, Simon did not know Him at all. Simon and the other fishermen were washing their nets. That meant they had done with fishing and were going home for a nice meal and some rest. But Jesus got into the boat, and started preaching. After He finished speaking, Jesus said to Simon, "Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch." If I was Peter, I might have said, "What?!!! After we have cleaned and washed our nets?!!!! No way!" Then I would have missed the greatest adventure of my life! 

Ron Lambros wrote in his book, “God does not want our faith kept in mothballs, so He sometimes allows trials and testing to come into our lives; the unexpected hardships and heartbreaks that rock us in places we never thought we'd face as a child of God. And it's in those defining moments that we knock off the cobwebs of our everyday faith and face life with a new and improved one that's empowered by God Himself.” 

We must always remember that challenges and trials are not a detour in our life, it is part of our journey. As Richard Paul Evans said, “Mountains can crush or raise you, depending on which side of the mountain you choose to stand on. All history bears out that the great, those who have changed the world, have all suffered great challenges. And, more times than not it's precisely those challenges that, in God's time, lead to triumph.”

Let us be prepared to put out into the deep water of these trials of today, knowing that with the Lord at our side, we will emerge stronger and victorious.