Deep sea fishing
It just so happened that one summer day, my cousin Jeremy and his family were in Panama City Beach the same time as me. We decided to go on an adventure as a family and try something new: deep sea fishing! It was so much fun meeting the captain of the boat and figuring out the gear. The anticipation and excitement of my first catch was exhilarating! I loved every moment of that experience (and very glad that I took Dramamine!) I was so proud of the few red snapper that I caught. I cherish that memory and think about it often. I actually hope to go back out to the sea and drop my line again sometime at the end of this year. Why am I sharing this memory with you? Because… it is radically changing my life right now.
The Worldrace is challenging me to try a new adventure and I am choosing to go deep sea fishing with Jesus. I know it might sound a little crazy, but, hear me out. I am referring to Luke 5. I had these 11 verses presented to me in a very radical way that is confronting me to urgent change. So, if you got the time, I got the breakdown. (Thank you Hope).
Think about this through your mind’s eye… picture the visual here. Go read Luke 5:1-11 first before you read anymore blog. (Pause).
Welcome back! Ok, here is the breakdown that I got from this passage. There were many people crowding Jesus, interested in His stories, interested in His life. They were intently listening to Him. However, Simon Peter was not paying Him any attention. He did not care, Jesus did not concern him. He just happened to be where Jesus was, he did not seek him out or purposely go where Jesus was going. He was simply cleaning his nets there. He was tired from fishing all night. Peter was simply in his own life, doing his own thing, just existing. (This sounds very familiar to my story for the past few years: just day and day out)
But, Jesus noticed him. Jesus took time away from what he was doing to be intentionally relational with Peter. Jesus gets inside Peter’s boat and Peter stops what he was doing. Now, Jesus is apart of Peter’s activity, apart of his life. Peter has no choice but to pay attention to what Jesus is saying. He can no longer be preoccupied with his own stuff.
To paint what just happened, Jesus boldly gets into the boat, without even asking permission. He just gets in. (in the boat, apart of Peter’s activity, apart of Peter’s life) Then, Jesus takes it a step further and asks to be pushed out from the shore a little. Things are still normal with continued involvement. Close family and friends are still in sight. They are still on the shore. Things are still “okay”. They are just pushed out… no big deal. (This where I was at before the race. Comfortable. I have just enough Jesus with me to comfort me and be my daily “Santa Claus”. However, if it gets too crazy.. I still have the option to jump out of the boat and swim back to where there is insignificant risk and to what is even more comfortable and familiar… (and ultimately, mundane.)
Jesus finished talking to the people on the shore (and to Peter who is now paying attention). Then, Jesus gets a little of what this world would call, “crazy.” He asks Peter to take the boat into deeper water and put his nets in the water to catch some fish. Now, remind you that Peter had just spent all this time cleaning his nets. He was getting ready to turn in for the night. He was tired and he even says that they tried all night to catch something and nothing happened. “Master, We tried this before! Nothing happened! I did this already. I tried, I tired, I tried already! I am tired! I do not want to try again. I just cleaned the nets!” (Well, this is me. I feel like I have tried these different paths already, I have tried to be a good Christian girl. I have tried to live missionly! I have tried this already! I am tired of trying! It just is not going to work. I just put these hopes, desires, dreams up. I do not have anything left in me to do this anymore…)
However, Peter, after just hearing from Jesus as he spoke to these people, after just having an encounter with the Lord, he chooses to obey Jesus. He said, “because you ask, I will do it.” How many times do we fall into this category where we only obey Jesus after we have some crazy awesome revival experience? How long will that willingness to obey Christ last? Jesus knew what was going to happen… but He did not tell Peter the result of him letting his net down. He did not tell him that he would reap an entire, abundant harvest of fish. He just told him what to do and it was up to Peter to make that choice. Even when Christ does not tell us that it will be okay, will we still make choose to obey him?
When the fishermen did as Jesus told them, they caught so many fish that the nets began to break. (verse 6). The result of his obedience was immediate. Instantly, a miracle happen and so many fish were caught in the net that Peter needed his friends to come out and help him. Now there is so many fish that both boats are starting to sink! Can you imagine how Peter must have felt? If Jesus allowed Peter to catch just an average load of fish, I am sure that Peter would have been astonished. But, my God delivers more than we need or expect. Their nets were breaking and their boats were sinking! It was an over abundance of fish!
Now, what happens next is the first time we see Peter being humble. He gets down on his knees and says, “Go away from me Lord! I am a sinner! Jesus went from being “Master” in verse 5 to “Lord” in verse 8. (What needs to happen in our life where we view ourselves no longer as slaves to a master but rather as personable children to the Lord?) Also, as apart of Jesus’ character, he does not rebuttal and say, “I told you so!” But, instead, he lovingly says, “Do not be afraid.” (This is crazy good. Woah.)
Something else to note, Jesus did not say, “don’t be afraid” before the nets were lowered. He said it to him afterwards. Jesus proved that He is trustworthy and then that gave Peter a reason to follow him. Jesus was romancing them. He wanted to blow their minds and expectations. He wanted to plan out the perfect moment so that He could make it better than what they could envision. Jesus told them that from now on, you will fish for people. I am sure they had no idea what that meant but it could only be good since it came from this man who just abundantly provided for them. There comes a point in our life, in our faith where we cross over the line and there is no turning back. It really does exist! We just have to be willing to go deeper and to be obedient with the Lord first before we can cross over the line. When the men got to the shore, they left everything and followed him. They never turned back. They never stopped following Jesus. (of course they doubted, stumbled, failed but never once did they stop following Him. They reached that point where they could never turn back.) What will it take for us to stop turning back over and over again? What will it take for you to choose to cross over the line and permanently move forward?
How is this passage and this memory of deep sea fishing changing my life? Because I have said yes to Jesus when I was a child. I have allowed him to step into my boat. In areas of my life, we have pushed off the shore a little bit. (Just enough where I have a decent reputation, known as the Christian girl who occasionally leads a bible study, and the missionary who goes on foreign mission trips.) However, now that I am on the Worldrace, Jesus is asking me to go deeper…way deeper. I could just stop there because that alone is a huge decision and commitment for me to follow through. He is asking me to go deeper in this and that means for now, it is away from Justin, family, friends, normal life, my bed, a shower, daily conveniences and daily comforts. He is asking me to go deeper spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally and cogitatively. Deeper in submissions…deeper in hope…deeper in service, in passions, in love, in faith, in purity, in convictions, in life and in sacrifice.
But, Jesus does not just stop with asking me to go deeper, He also throws in, “let down your nets” Ugh, that’s a killer. For me, that means, letting down my nets, my walls as my securities, my protection, my strengths, and my masks. We have sat in this boat long enough. He is telling me to leave the shore. He is ready to move forward and He, me, us can only do that if I choose to let down my nets and walls. Jesus is bringing me all the way out into the middle of the ocean (or, the middle of the jungle if you want to be more literal) so that He and I can do this together, alone…because he is a very imitate God. It is time to get real and honest.
I want to be apart of what the Lord is doing; I want to be astounded. I want to risk the ocean so that I can risk the land! I want to truly become a fisher of people. I have decided to let my nets down. For me, this means becoming completely transparent and starting over without any lies or fabrications. This means becoming completely raw and vulnerable. This means telling God, myself, Justin, my team, my squad things that I have never told another living person. It means dropping my mask and watching it scatter into a billion unrepairable pieces. It is me realizing that I hardly have anything together (much less everything together) It is me realizing that I can be a mess, I do not have to be whole, I can be broken. It is me realizing that everybody sins and struggles. It is me realizing that I have enormous fear and insecurities. It is accepting where I am at and being ok with my process. It is me growing to believe that I bring beauty to the Kingdom….that I have worth and value. It is me deciding to quit playing the victim and walk out of my past and out of my crap. It is time for me to risk the ocean and push off the shore… to go deeper.
Regardless if I reap a harvest of fish, I want to go deeper and I want to obey you Jesus! If you want me to drop my “nets”, I want to do that with excellence. Even if it takes 11 months to even gesturing to check my nets, I want to wait and serve the Lord. Even if it takes 2 years, 7 years or a lifetime to see what my efforts contain, it is worth it. Is it to you? I want to move from calling Jesus “master” (and Santa Claus) to LORD!
This is ridiculous. I am obsessed with the ocean and beach. So, why have I been fighting for so long to stay on the shore? It is time to go deeper. So, take me deep sea fishing Jesus.
Deep sea fishing
It just so happened that one summer day, my cousin Jeremy and his family were in Panama City Beach the same time as me. We decided to go on an adventure as a family and try something new: deep sea fishing! It was so much fun meeting the captain of the boat and figuring out the gear. The anticipation and excitement of my first catch was exhilarating! I loved every moment of that experience (and very glad that I took Dramamine!) I was so proud of the few red snapper that I caught. I cherish that memory and think about it often. I actually hope to go back out to the sea and drop my line again sometime at the end of this year. Why am I sharing this memory with you? Because… it is radically changing my life right now.
The Worldrace is challenging me to try a new adventure and I am choosing to go deep sea fishing with Jesus. I know it might sound a little crazy, but, hear me out. I am referring to Luke 5. I had these 11 verses presented to me in a very radical way that is confronting me to urgent change. So, if you got the time, I got the breakdown. (Thank you Hope).
Think about this through your mind’s eye… picture the visual here. Go read Luke 5:1-11 first before you read anymore blog. (Pause).
Welcome back! Ok, here is the breakdown that I got from this passage. There were many people crowding Jesus, interested in His stories, interested in His life. They were intently listening to Him. However, Simon Peter was not paying Him any attention. He did not care, Jesus did not concern him. He just happened to be where Jesus was, he did not seek him out or purposely go where Jesus was going. He was simply cleaning his nets there. He was tired from fishing all night. Peter was simply in his own life, doing his own thing, just existing. (This sounds very familiar to my story for the past few years: just day and day out)
But, Jesus noticed him. Jesus took time away from what he was doing to be intentionally relational with Peter. Jesus gets inside Peter’s boat and Peter stops what he was doing. Now, Jesus is apart of Peter’s activity, apart of his life. Peter has no choice but to pay attention to what Jesus is saying. He can no longer be preoccupied with his own stuff.
To paint what just happened, Jesus boldly gets into the boat, without even asking permission. He just gets in. (in the boat, apart of Peter’s activity, apart of Peter’s life) Then, Jesus takes it a step further and asks to be pushed out from the shore a little. Things are still normal with continued involvement. Close family and friends are still in sight. They are still on the shore. Things are still “okay”. They are just pushed out… no big deal. (This where I was at before the race. Comfortable. I have just enough Jesus with me to comfort me and be my daily “Santa Claus”. However, if it gets too crazy.. I still have the option to jump out of the boat and swim back to where there is insignificant risk and to what is even more comfortable and familiar… (and ultimately, mundane.)
Jesus finished talking to the people on the shore (and to Peter who is now paying attention). Then, Jesus gets a little of what this world would call, “crazy.” He asks Peter to take the boat into deeper water and put his nets in the water to catch some fish. Now, remind you that Peter had just spent all this time cleaning his nets. He was getting ready to turn in for the night. He was tired and he even says that they tried all night to catch something and nothing happened. “Master, We tried this before! Nothing happened! I did this already. I tried, I tired, I tried already! I am tired! I do not want to try again. I just cleaned the nets!” (Well, this is me. I feel like I have tried these different paths already, I have tried to be a good Christian girl. I have tried to live missionly! I have tried this already! I am tired of trying! It just is not going to work. I just put these hopes, desires, dreams up. I do not have anything left in me to do this anymore…)
However, Peter, after just hearing from Jesus as he spoke to these people, after just having an encounter with the Lord, he chooses to obey Jesus. He said, “because you ask, I will do it.” How many times do we fall into this category where we only obey Jesus after we have some crazy awesome revival experience? How long will that willingness to obey Christ last? Jesus knew what was going to happen… but He did not tell Peter the result of him letting his net down. He did not tell him that he would reap an entire, abundant harvest of fish. He just told him what to do and it was up to Peter to make that choice. Even when Christ does not tell us that it will be okay, will we still make choose to obey him?
When the fishermen did as Jesus told them, they caught so many fish that the nets began to break. (verse 6). The result of his obedience was immediate. Instantly, a miracle happen and so many fish were caught in the net that Peter needed his friends to come out and help him. Now there is so many fish that both boats are starting to sink! Can you imagine how Peter must have felt? If Jesus allowed Peter to catch just an average load of fish, I am sure that Peter would have been astonished. But, my God delivers more than we need or expect. Their nets were breaking and their boats were sinking! It was an over abundance of fish!
Now, what happens next is the first time we see Peter being humble. He gets down on his knees and says, “Go away from me Lord! I am a sinner! Jesus went from being “Master” in verse 5 to “Lord” in verse 8. (What needs to happen in our life where we view ourselves no longer as slaves to a master but rather as personable children to the Lord?) Also, as apart of Jesus’ character, he does not rebuttal and say, “I told you so!” But, instead, he lovingly says, “Do not be afraid.” (This is crazy good. Woah.)
Something else to note, Jesus did not say, “don’t be afraid” before the nets were lowered. He said it to him afterwards. Jesus proved that He is trustworthy and then that gave Peter a reason to follow him. Jesus was romancing them. He wanted to blow their minds and expectations. He wanted to plan out the perfect moment so that He could make it better than what they could envision. Jesus told them that from now on, you will fish for people. I am sure they had no idea what that meant but it could only be good since it came from this man who just abundantly provided for them. There comes a point in our life, in our faith where we cross over the line and there is no turning back. It really does exist! We just have to be willing to go deeper and to be obedient with the Lord first before we can cross over the line. When the men got to the shore, they left everything and followed him. They never turned back. They never stopped following Jesus. (of course they doubted, stumbled, failed but never once did they stop following Him. They reached that point where they could never turn back.) What will it take for us to stop turning back over and over again? What will it take for you to choose to cross over the line and permanently move forward?
How is this passage and this memory of deep sea fishing changing my life? Because I have said yes to Jesus when I was a child. I have allowed him to step into my boat. In areas of my life, we have pushed off the shore a little bit. (Just enough where I have a decent reputation, known as the Christian girl who occasionally leads a bible study, and the missionary who goes on foreign mission trips.) However, now that I am on the Worldrace, Jesus is asking me to go deeper…way deeper. I could just stop there because that alone is a huge decision and commitment for me to follow through. He is asking me to go deeper in this and that means for now, it is away from Justin, family, friends, normal life, my bed, a shower, daily conveniences and daily comforts. He is asking me to go deeper spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally and cogitatively. Deeper in submissions…deeper in hope…deeper in service, in passions, in love, in faith, in purity, in convictions, in life and in sacrifice.
But, Jesus does not just stop with asking me to go deeper, He also throws in, “let down your nets” Ugh, that’s a killer. For me, that means, letting down my nets, my walls as my securities, my protection, my strengths, and my masks. We have sat in this boat long enough. He is telling me to leave the shore. He is ready to move forward and He, me, us can only do that if I choose to let down my nets and walls. Jesus is bringing me all the way out into the middle of the ocean (or, the middle of the jungle if you want to be more literal) so that He and I can do this together, alone…because he is a very imitate God. It is time to get real and honest.
I want to be apart of what the Lord is doing; I want to be astounded. I want to risk the ocean so that I can risk the land! I want to truly become a fisher of people. I have decided to let my nets down. For me, this means becoming completely transparent and starting over without any lies or fabrications. This means becoming completely raw and vulnerable. This means telling God, myself, Justin, my team, my squad things that I have never told another living person. It means dropping my mask and watching it scatter into a billion unrepairable pieces. It is me realizing that I hardly have anything together (much less everything together) It is me realizing that I can be a mess, I do not have to be whole, I can be broken. It is me realizing that everybody sins and struggles. It is me realizing that I have enormous fear and insecurities. It is accepting where I am at and being ok with my process. It is me growing to believe that I bring beauty to the Kingdom….that I have worth and value. It is me deciding to quit playing the victim and walk out of my past and out of my crap. It is time for me to risk the ocean and push off the shore… to go deeper.
Regardless if I reap a harvest of fish, I want to go deeper and I want to obey you Jesus! If you want me to drop my “nets”, I want to do that with excellence. Even if it takes 11 months to even gesturing to check my nets, I want to wait and serve the Lord. Even if it takes 2 years, 7 years or a lifetime to see what my efforts contain, it is worth it. Is it to you? I want to move from calling Jesus “master” (and Santa Claus) to LORD!
This is ridiculous. I am obsessed with the ocean and beach. So, why have I been fighting for so long to stay on the shore? It is time to go deeper. So, take me deep sea fishing Jesus.
