Luke 5 tells of a day that changed everything for Simon Peter.

He had worked as a fisherman for years. One long night of not catching fish was setting him up for a change.

The fishing was not a casual throwing in a line, but a full body workout. It took several men to cast out the net, pull in the net all night long. They-were-exhausted. Imagine the disappointment. The frustration.

And then…Jesus just happened along.

He knew everything that had gone on through the night. The crowd was in the right place, at the right time, just so He could use Simon Peter’s boat. Something big was about to happen.

We often don’t see how Jesus is working behind the scenes. How He puts puzzle pieces together. He does that for each one of us. Just as He had set things in motion for Peter, He did that for you. Think about when you gave your heart to Him, or if you are thinking about doing that today, He connects all the dots Just. To. Speak. To. Us.

So, Jesus had set up the whole thing. Peter had fished all night with nothing, nada, zilch. He came along and needed the boat. Oh, Jesus was going to take that boat.

After He had finished speaking to the crowd, Jesus told Peter, “Throw out your nets into the deep water.” Can you hear the air whoosh out of Peter’s lungs? The eye roll? The sass? See the head bob? “I have been a fisherman for a living. And this guy just saunters up…” But Peter had already seen Jesus heal his mother-in-law a few days before. “OK…Shew. Because You say so….” That’s how Peter started his surrender.

Have you ever given Jesus attitude? “Shew, LORD, I have blah, blah, blah. But SHEW (again), because You say so, I will ____.” (Fill in the blank.) That’s where our surrender is: when we let Him take control.

Peter and the boys had been fishing all night with nothing to show for it but sore muscles. Suddenly, there were so many fish, they needed help and their boat was sinking!

Peter was undone. He knew what a miracle it was — how long it would have taken to catch all those fish. That day, Peter caught a million fish, but Jesus caught HIM.

Simon Peter was not perfect. Far from it. But Jesus called him. And used him. That is a comfort to me. To us. Jesus knows us. He knows we are not perfect. He uses imperfect, tarnished people. That’s where He gets biggest glory!

In his time as a disciple, Peter would speak before he thought, jump before he looked, do amazing things and be an idiot — sometimes all in the same day. He followed Jesus but still was a mess.

I love the first words Jesus told him, “Do not be afraid…” Oh, Peter was gonna need to remember those words.

Peter laid everything down that day. His livelihood, business, retirement. Everything. He had no clue what it meant, yet he was jumping with both feet in. Peter didn’t know the impact he would have. He didn’t realize we would be talking about him thousands of years later. All he knew was he absolutely had to go with Jesus.

Is there something that is holding you back from following Jesus or fully surrendering to Him? Are you holding on to what is familiar because you are afraid of the unknown? Drop that net! Get out of the boat and jump with both feet in!

It will be the adventure of a lifetime!