SOURCE & AUTHOR OF BLESSING!

by Prince Josiah Jeyaraj

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

In Luke 5:1-11, Peter and his friends – probably James, John, and Andrew – had fished all night and were exhausted, tired and dejected. Luke points out that the men were washing their nets and dint even a catch of fish. When Jesus finished teaching the crowd, instead of going back to shore, Jesus tells Peter to head out for the deep water. We know the outcome of the story, they caught fish to a point where their boats were about to sink.When the Lord does something, He doesn't do it half-way.

Peter had JUST then washed his nets. If he let them down into the sea again, the nets need to be washed again, because Jesus told him to put his net down into the deep water, Peter trusted Jesus and then obeyed. Often times, God tell us to do something that may be out of our way or seem too hard at the time. However, we must always be like Peter, obeying and trusting Him. There is blessing in obedience, and even if you don’t see it immediately, it is always better to obey God, no matter what He tells you to do. God always rewards those who trust Him.

There are times God sends us back to the place of our failure and fruitlessness to teach us the lessons He wants us to learn. There is no reason why Peter should fail, he was seasoned fisherman and he knew every trick in the world to have a big catch, more to that, it was his routine. Why didn't the Lord allow Peter to catch fish the night before? There were plenty of fish in the sea as we know. Peter failed because the Lord wanted to teach him a much needed lesson: “Without Him you can do nothing.”

God often prepares us for his call by allowing us to endure personal failure. Until we sense our need for Him, we will not be ready to follow Him.

God rewards his obedience with a big catch, the rewards were exceedingly abundant. When they get back to the shore, the story takes a new twist. Jesus asks Peter to leave everything and follow him. At once Peter left everything and followed him.

Peter experienced a BIG Miracle, he dint want to hold to the Success, but rather he was keen to hold onto the source of the BIG Miracle. Peter knew success is always short lived; hence he wanted to hold on the JESUS, the source and author of blessing, which is eternal.