“Thou Art Loosed From Thine Infirmity”

Scripture For Meditation — Luke 5:1-9

Loose The Tied Up Nets

Our scripture text for today, tells a story that is familiar to many Christians, on so many levels that we may however, not immediately recognise.

The narrative begins by contrasting the different timings in the work of man and the work of God —

At the point that man’s efforts are spent and his work done, and man has come to his wits end, that is when God is just beginning with us!

“So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret,

and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.” Luk 5:1 -2

At first glance, the scene being described would appear to be the normal end of work or end of day scenario in the fishermen’s lives — boats tied up on the shore, nets taken out of the boat, the catch of fish removed, and nets washed up for the next day’s work. Only on this day, something was not quite right — the day’s labor yielded no returns!

Have you ever experienced a day or maybe even days like that?

Jesus got into one of the empty boats and asking Simon to push it out into the water, He taught the crowd from the boat.

“When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Luk 5:4

There is something very crucial in this instruction that many of us even after having read this text so many times, may have actually failed to spot!

Let’s first look at Simon’s response to the instructions:

But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” Luk 5:5

The key word to begin with is what that verse started with — “But” Simon answered…

Jesus actually gave Simon a 2-part instruction; first, He asked Simon to:

1. Launch out into the deep;

However, there was a “but” to Simon’s response to the Lord’s instructions to Him , which suggested that he wasn’t too sure that what Jesus was promising him was realisable because it didn’t make sense in the natural!

“Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing;

Peter probably assessed the situation, considered what Jesus was asking him to do, and thought to himself: “Nah! Things don’t normally happen that way Jesus; trust me, I’ve been there, done that…too late, I’ve moved on now!”

But then Simon somehow managed to sum up some faith to half-heartedly respond to the second part of the instructions —

2. And let down your nets for a catch

Look at Simon’s response —

“Nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”

The Lord specifically asked Simon to “let down your nets”; but Simon responded by categorically saying to Jesus; “I will let down the net!”

He probably didn’t think that the effort required to let down his nets and wash them up again in case he caught nothing, was a reasonable labour to endure if Jesus got it wrong!

“And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.

So they 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. Luk 5:6-7

Seeing this, Simon was convicted about his lack of faith and lack of trust in the Lord.

Prayer Focus

Dear friend, what “buts” have you come up with in response to what the Lord had asked you to do, that has limited your breakthrough or put you in danger of talking yourself out of your miracle?

Have you also like Simon settled for a half-hearted, rationally-reasoned response to His instructions to you?

Have you also settled to just let down that solitary net instead of the nets that the Master is asking you to let down?

Have you even been able to trust Him enough to launch out again in spite of the earlier barren or disappointing run?

It is time to own up, confess and repent of your lack of faith or weak faith, and allow the Holy Spirit to stir up faith in your heart to fully respond to your breakthough instructions!

Untie the boats, launch out in faith and let down your nets for your miracle! The way may not look right to you, nevertheless at His word, your change is destined to come!

Begin to prophesy over your life and into your situation, that you will no longer labour in vain.

Declare in the Name of Jesus, that you will not labour nor toil for no reward or little gains.

Precious child of God, I prophesy into your life today, that you are delivered from every disabling spirit that has beset you and limited your breakthrough — You are Loosed from your Infirmity in Jesus’s Name. Amen.

Shalom,

Pastor Wale Ola