“Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch.” — Luke 5:4 (NKJV)

COMPLETELY POWERLESS WITHOUT HIM

From this story, we learn how necessary human effort is in God’s work. The great catch of fish was a miracle, yet the fisherman, his boat, and his nets were all used to accomplish it. In the same way, when it comes to saving souls, God works through human means. As long as this age of grace continues, God is pleased to use what seems like the “foolishness of preaching” to bring salvation to those who believe.

Of course, God could save without any instruments, and He would still be glorified. But He has chosen to work through people and means, because that is how He is most glorified on earth.

Yet the means themselves are completely powerless without Him. Peter and his partners said, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing.” Why was that? Were they inexperienced fishermen? No—they were professionals who knew their trade. Did they work carelessly? No, they labored diligently. Did they give up too soon? No, they toiled all night long. Was the sea empty of fish? Certainly not—for as soon as Jesus gave the command, the fish came in great numbers.

The real reason was this: there is no power in the means themselves apart from the presence of Jesus. “Without Him we can do nothing.” But with Christ, all things become possible. His presence brings success. When Jesus sat in Peter’s boat, His divine power drew the fish to the net.

Likewise, when Jesus is exalted in His Church, His presence becomes its true strength—“the shout of a King is among them.” He said, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”

So let us go out today to the work of soul-fishing—looking upward in faith and outward in earnest concern for others. Let us labor faithfully until night falls, trusting that our effort will not be in vain. The One who commands us to “let down the nets” will fill them in His time.