Back in the boat (Luke 5:3)

And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat. (Luke 5:3 NASB)

Simon had just had one of the biggest business failures of his life. He and his crew had fished all night long and not caught a single fish, despite the rich waters of the Sea of Galilee. Most men would have been discouraged, frustrated, and out of sorts. Considering how much "humanness" Simon often displayed, he probably was all of that. Jesus looked at Simon, who was cleaning his nets, and asked him to get back in the boat and put out into the water so He could teach. Knowing he would still have to clean the nets afterward, Simon moved the boat. I don't know that Simon put the boat out expecting a miracle of some kind, but Jesus WAS becoming known as a miracle-working preacher. 

Regardless of what Simon expected Jesus to do, what He did was start teaching the crowd, as if Simon wasn't there at all. Simon didn't get any special attention for his help, nor a commendation before the crowd. It may have looked to Simon as if Jesus was ignoring him. As soon as Jesus finished speaking, however, it became apparent that Jesus had not overlooked Simon, nor was He ignoring him, at all. What came after was so much better than Simon ever expected!

Has that ever happened to you? Have you found yourself in a frustrating spot, expecting Jesus to do something, hoping He would, but finding that more obedience is required? Most of us have something in our lives that needs His intervention, don't we? If we are honest, most of us wish Jesus would hop to it and address our need, too. Maybe we, like Simon, just need a little more time in the boat, allowing Jesus to use our situation to accomplish His purposes, before that for which we long will come. 

Simon probably resented the night spent fishing without a catch, but what he didn't realize at the time was that no catch meant he had a clean boat for Jesus to use the next morning. What looked like a disaster was actually preparation for the coming of the King. I wonder... Maybe that troublesome, disastrous, frustrating thing in our lives is actually preparation for something we can't begin to imagine. 

Today, pray for the coming of our King that will change everything - in ourselves and in our loved ones.