Ya gotta go deeper.......

I mentioned in the last entry that Jesus was challenging Peter, the fisherman to think outside his box. The instructions Jesus gave to Peter were outside the box. It was going to require Peter to do something a little different than he had been doing.

I love to read the verses in Luke 5:1-11. Peter and his crew had been fishing all night, just like they always did. This was their box. And for the most part, doing things this way seemed to be working for them, but not this night. They came up empty handed. But Jesus came along and told them put out a little deeper and then throw their nets in the water.

You know the rest of the story. It was a great catch. All the fish that had gotten away before now had ended up in their nets and they had to call for help to bring the catch in.

When we begin to think outside the box, or as our genius friends reminded us, when we start doing something different, we get results we've never seen before.

This whole event is a great reminder of what happens when we obey the simple commands Jesus gives us to do. Just doing what he says will turn our lives from being disappointing and empty to exciting and overflowing.

My favorite part of the story comes in verses 10 & 11. Jesus tells Peter to not be afraid. Afraid of what? Could it be that Jesus wanted Peter to live outside the box? Could it be that Jesus' plans for Peter's life were beyond anything that a second or third generation fisherman from Galilee could imagine ever being so for him? Probably. But Jesus told him not to be afraid. He was going to change Peter from being a fisherman of fish, to being a fisherman of men.

There would be challenges. There might be some big waves, a few soldiers, an angry mob, and even some Gentiles to encounter. But Jesus said "don't be afraid."

It's a great reminder for me and probably for you. It's going to be different than we think. It's going to be outside our box. But don't be afraid!

Always in Pursuit!