Luke 5:1–11 (ESV)

¹On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on [Jesus] to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, ²and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. ³Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. ⁴And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” ⁵And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” ⁶And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. ⁷They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” ⁹For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, ¹⁰and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” ¹¹And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

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Simon was worn out from toiling with no results pronouncing, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!”  Fishermen are not the only people with such a complaint.  There are countless unsuccessful weary workers: pastors, teachers, missionaries, and lay people watching days, weeks, and years come and go with little to show for their efforts.

Jesus calls us to fish for the souls of men with Him.  However, many Christians become weary because they see so few results.  Often, failure and disappointment, along with everyday responsibilities lead to discouragement which gets in the way of spiritual fishing.  In his first Epistle, Saint Peter reminds us, “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps” (2:21).  Jesus left the glory of heaven to come down to this earth to fish in the sea of sinners. He said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).  Jesus faced the temptation of the devil and was rejected by His own people.  Yet, because His Father gave Him a mission, He persevered.  Jesus fulfilled His mission when He died on the cross and rose again.  On Calvary, Jesus paid the price for the sin of the whole world, including the sin of our half-hearted evangelism.

Through His Word, the Lord gives us His strength, empowering us to persevere.  We do nothing to earn this strength, nor do we deserve it.  This strength is available to all Christ believers.  It is a free gift and includes the forgiveness of sins to all who believe. So, the next time you feel weak, powerless, and miserable, just remember that of ourselves we are weak, powerless, and miserable, but with the power of Christ flowing into our lives through His Word and Sacraments, we are conquerors. Paul reiterates this in Romans 8:37: “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”

The fact is, in this life our success may only be seen by someone else, as Christ says in John 4:37, “For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’”  So, investing your life to fish for people is definitely worth the risk because the day will come when your Heavenly Father will say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant! . . . Enter into the joy of your master!” (Matthew 25:21).