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

Miracles, more often than not, involve human cooperation. This is consistent throughout Scripture. Saints must obey God if they want to see miracles.

God assembled the fish in the net, but the fisherman had to obey Christ to take advantage of the miracle. So it is in the saving of souls, God works by means. “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

When God uses flawed saints, He’s glorified. He uses saints who in themselves could do nothing, so everyone can see their utter need of God’s grace. Peter said, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net” (Luke 5:5). When he obeyed Christ, he saw the miracle. The fish were probably already gathered, but Peter would not have seen them, unless he obeyed God.

These men knew how to fish. but before Christ came, they caught nothing. Had they lacked knowledge and skill? No. Had they lacked perseverance? No. What does God want us to learn from this? When you obey God, He accomplishes His will, and His will is that you always look to Him to accomplish His will.

Christ said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Christ’s presence confers success. Jesus sat in Peter’s boat, and His will, by a mysterious influence, drew the fish to the net. When Jesus is lifted up in His Church, His presence is the Church’s power. Christ said, “I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32), and that’s still true today.

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