Is Jesus Trying to Empty Your Net?

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One of the most shocking things about God is that He not only wants to have an intimate, intensely personal relationship with us, but He also calls us and sets us apart for His particular use. He gives us things to do. He asks us to join Him in His work. 1 Corinthians 7:17 says, “Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him.” With all of our flaws, weaknesses, distractions, and fickle desires, the King of the Universe not only sacrificed Himself so that we could have fellowship with Him, but on top of that, He takes the time to engineer a highly detailed plan for our lives. If you haven’t stopped to think about this mind-blowing fact in a while, then I invite you to pause and do that right now.

Although I am currently in a transition phase and actually have no idea what I might be doing for work a month from now, let alone a year from now, I have been amazed at how much the Holy Spirit has been reassuring me that He is preparing me for something specific. During my quiet time, He has been reminding me that nothing is ever wasted, and through the encouraging words of others, He has been continually reassuring me that He has a purpose for me. And I am especially appreciative of the Holy Spirit’s abiding support when the things God is doing to prepare me for the future feel especially difficult and hard to process. But that is the very nature of God. It is consistent with His character. When He takes us through times of realignment, discipline, or change, He reminds us that He never changes. That His presence is always with us. That His mercies will not fail. That He will give us enough to face the day ahead. Most importantly, that if we yield to His course adjustments, He will be glorified, no matter how ugly the path is to get to a new destination.

Sometimes the changes God brings and the adjustments He asks us to make are hard to describe. We can’t put words to them, which is essential for understanding, and humans hate the feelings that come with being clueless or confused. Even if the ramifications are bad, we want to know what is happening and why. And that’s the very reason God often has for allowing the circumstances in the first place — they penetrate to the core of us. They reach us at the deepest level and reveal our lack of trust in Him to not only handle the unknown, but to orchestrate it at His discretion. But oh my, when God does turn the light on in our brains, and the Holy Spirit permits us a glimpse of why and what God might be up to, our primary reaction always brings a tidal wave of humility. Because without humility in our hearts, God will often hold back some or all of the next steps in His plan. Pride is the enemy of holy plans, and sometimes we don’t even know it’s in the way until the Spirit reveals it to us.

For months and months this year, I was struggling to describe and understand what was happening and how God was planning to use a slew of difficulties — both outward and inward struggles — for His glory. And then one Sunday I was sitting in church and heard a sermon that the Holy Spirit used to turn the light on, so to speak. Even more remarkably, the word He whispered to my heart was not even a point the pastor was trying to make. I went back more than a month later and listened to the sermon again and was surprised to see that what I wrote down in my notes — what really struck a chord with me — was not anywhere to be found in the message that was delivered. It wasn’t entirely off-topic, and it had a direct correlation to the scripture passage, but the Holy Spirit uniquely tailored an application from the sermon for me. Even though I’ve seen it happen before, I still never cease to be amazed at the wonder of God and His intimate workings in our hearts.
The primary Scripture passage that spoke to me from the sermon that day is what many title as the calling of Peter in Luke 5:1-11. I know the selection is a little longer than what I normally include, but I think you’ll get as lost in the story as I did. I especially like this version of it from The Message.

Once when He [Jesus] was standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret [Galilee], the crowd was pushing in on him to better hear the Word of God. He noticed two boats tied up. The fishermen had just left them and were out scrubbing their nets. He climbed into the boat that was Simon’s [Peter] and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Sitting there, using the boat for a pulpit, he taught the crowd. When he finished teaching, he said to Simon, “Push out into deep water and let your nets out for a catch.” Simon said, “Master, we’ve been fishing hard all night and haven’t caught even a minnow. But if you say so, I’ll let out the nets.” It was no sooner said than done—a huge haul of fish, straining the nets past capacity. They waved to their partners in the other boat to come help them. They filled both boats, nearly swamping them with the catch. Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell to his knees before Jesus. “Master, leave. I’m a sinner and can’t handle this holiness. Leave me to myself.” When they pulled in that catch of fish, awe overwhelmed Simon and everyone with him. It was the same with James and John, Zebedee’s sons, coworkers with Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “There is nothing to fear. From now on you’ll be fishing for men and women.” They pulled their boats up on the beach, left them, nets and all, and followed him.

As I listened to that passage, and have re-read it many times since, one thing kept hitting me over and over — Jesus performed two miracles in this story. Most of the time, we focus on the obvious one, which is the overflowing of fish when Peter obeyed Jesus and let down the nets. But what the Holy Spirit illuminated my small brain is the unspoken miracle of the empty nets. You see, Peter was a professional fisherman. He was likely very good at what he did for a living. He and his co-workers were not kids, and they had probably learned the craft of fishing from their fathers, just as they did from their fathers before them. Because his training and experience taught him that working the nightshift was the most productive, he was clearly dubious when Jesus asked him to go out to deep water and lower his nets in the heat of the day. But one look in Jesus’ eyes and Peter was compelled to obey. Something about the presence of Jesus and the power in His voice inspired enough faith in Peter for him to let go of everything he knew to be correct, right, and profitable.

And this is where the Holy Spirit allowed me to see myself in Peter’s predicament. Jesus was about to call Peter to an entirely new life. Therefore, Peter’s nets had to be emptied of his own efforts, talents, skills, and self-reliance to be filled with complete dependence on God. Peter had known what he was doing, so there is no reason at all for us to believe that he didn’t normally catch fish each night. In fact, it would be nearly impossible for his nets to not contain at least a piddly amount of fish after a night of fishing. Jesus miraculously intervened to prepare Peter’s heart for his calling. If given a choice, Peter — just like you or I — would have gladly asked for and received the miracle of abundance. But none of us would have asked for the first one… the miracle of emptiness. Yet, Jesus knew it was the very thing that Peter needed to be prepared for greater things to come. Without it, Peter would not have been humbled, vulnerable, and ready to receive Jesus’ invitation. He would’ve continued to cling to himself, his experience, talents, skills, knowledge, and previous accomplishments. Without the miracle of Jesus emptying his net, Peter would’ve remained a fisherman rather than the fisher of men and women which he became.

Sometimes, Jesus has to empty our nets, my friend. And it’s a hard miracle to watch and receive. But regardless of the difficulty, confusion, and sadness associated with letting go of ourselves, including the very things that God seems to have blessed us with, it’s still a miracle in which we are called to embrace and rejoice. Americans pride themselves on their work ethic. We sing about our independence. We’re taught to “pull ourselves by our bootstraps” and achieve the American dream. Even as Christians, we often assume that God’s calling on our lives includes the use of what we’re good at… what we know… what we have skills for… Logic tells us that God brings us life experiences and bestows talents upon us to outfit us for His calling. We use the phrase, “I was born for this,” like we can predict the future. I think Peter thought he was born to be a fisherman. But Jesus turned his world upside down and made Peter realize that he was born to follow the Messiah and do whatever the Spirit filled him to do.

It’s not what Peter thought he would be doing, but I don’t think he ever sat around an evening fire with the other disciples lamenting the waste of not using his professional skillset. And this is where conviction flooded my heart. If Jesus has been trying to empty my net and I’ve been gripping the ropes unwilling to let Him have it with all it contains, then He won’t perform the next miracle. While many of the things in my net — or yours — may not be wrong in and of themselves, they may be things that weigh us down or blind us to our true calling because we think we were born to do them. We hang onto them and drag them around with us, rather than letting them go and trusting God to provide what is needed for the tasks that lie ahead. Later on, He might bring some of them out of the ashes to use for His work, but He asks us to be willing to sacrifice all of them for the sake of the call.

Many years after Peter’s calling by the Sea of Galilee, the Spirit of Jesus inspired him to write these words in 1 Peter 5:5b-7: “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” In his earlier years, we know from the Gospels that Peter, along with the other disciples, had wanted Jesus to exalt him… to raise him up in leadership. To give him a grand and glorious dream to achieve in God’s name. By the time he wrote these verses, Jesus had clearly performed many more miracles of emptiness within Peter. I like to imagine that as Peter’s pen obeyed the Spirit’s leading, he also vividly recalled the day Jesus performed a miracle to kick off Peter’s process of being humbled himself. Within and of ourselves, human beings generally don’t have the spiritual fortitude to choose a humbling experience. Nor can we muster up enough faith to believe the impossible. It is always the miraculous work of God.

So today, I’m not only trying to embrace the emptying process, but now also asking Jesus to remove whatever I’m dragging around in my net that gets in His way. And I find myself continually returning to the verses from 1 Peter 5 to help me remember that my calling ultimately is to become more like Jesus, rather than achieve great things for Him. Our aim should be to love God and be transformed by Him into new creatures, not to serve Him. As we become more like Him, His infilling and transformation will produce the works He’s called us to do and fully glorify Him.

Five-Day Devotional Guide For Further Reflection and Daily Spiritual Journaling
These readings from today’s message can be used for a single-day study or your daily quiet time throughout the week. Before you begin reading the passage for each day, spend some time asking God to open your heart to His truth and hearing His voice.
Day 1 - Re-visit the passages included in the message and read them in at least two different versions. Spend some time inserting yourself into the story of Peter. Ask God to reveal to you areas of your life that need to be emptied or He has emptied in the past. Sometimes we recall difficult times in our lives negatively, completely missing the signs of God at work. As you ask the Spirit to reveal truth to you from His Word, write down any thoughts that come to your mind.
Day 2 - Offer up prayers of thanks. If you’ve recently been through a season of having your net emptied, then spend the next few minutes thanking God for taking you through the process and ask Him to make you humble enough and have the eyes to see when it needs to happen again. If you’re yet to go through this experience, ask the Lord to prepare your heart. Give you the courage to accept the emptying when it comes. To thrive in the emptying. If you’re in the midst of it now, rest my dear friend. Stop trying to figure out what’s next and why He’s emptied the net. Instead, embrace the unseen that He is bringing to you. It may not seem like your net could ever be filled again, especially if part of your net emptying includes a dream you’ve always wanted. But when you spend time thanking God for His sovereignty over your life and His love at work in your heart, you will be strengthened for the road ahead.
Day 3 - Offer up prayers of Release. Spend time confessing and asking God to help you let go of anything that could be in the way of His plans coming to fruition in your life. Whatever it is, open your heart up to Him and ask Him to help you live with open hands rather than clenched fists, gripping your net to your chest.
Day 4 - Offer up prayers of Reliance. Jesus wanted Peter to rely on Him and not Peter’s own professional skills, talents, or experiences. Offer up to God your prayers for humility and dependence, asking Him to help you embrace the process of learning to lean on Him completely. He alone is responsible for results and outcomes. No matter how much hard work you put into it, Jesus is asking you to release the results of your labor to Him. The responsibility is all His. You can rest and trust in Him.
Day 5 - Offer up prayers of Renewal. The process of having your net emptied is a humbling learning experience. It takes courage to live fearlessly based on the Spirit’s strength and power, and not what you know best and what you know you’re good at. But when you release your control and all that you have to Jesus, followed by reliance on Him for your every dream, comfort, and need, He promises renewal. He promises peace. He promises joy.

What do you think of today's message? Comment and share your thoughts on this post! And if God brought someone to mind as you read or listened, please encourage them by sharing this post today!

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