One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”
“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking. (Luke 5:1-7)
Peter, an experienced fisherman, had been unable to catch a single fish, even though he tried all night. But with Jesus in his boat and under His direction, his nets overflowed.
Who filled the disciples’ nets?
That’s easy, Jesus performed a miracle on their behalf to fill their nets with fish during a time of day when it’s unlikely to catch anything.
But let me ask you, if the disciples had not made the effort to pull in the nets, how many fish would they have had?
None!
Their human effort without divine power brought in not one fish the night before. However, without their human effort they wouldn’t have brought in the catch of fish that they did either. It was divine aid coupled with human effort that brought in a great harvest.
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase…. For we are God’s fellow workers…” (1 Cor. 3:6-7, 9). We are to be fellow workers with God. Divine aid coupled with our feeble human effort will bring in a great harvest of souls for God’s kingdom!
Sarah E. Brown 