Daily Manna 28 January
KEY VERSE: “And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.” – (Exodus 4:20)
TEXT: Luke 5:1-11 (KJV)
5 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, 2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. 3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.
4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
5 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.” 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. 7 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. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” 11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they [a]forsook all and followed Him.
Charles H. Spurgeon told the story of his first student who walked up to him and complained that he had been preaching for several months without recording a single conversion. “And do you expect,” said Mr Spurgeon, “that the Lord is going to bless you and save souls every time you open your mouth?” “No, sir,” he replied. “Well, then,” said Mr. Spurgeon, “that is why you do not get souls saved. If you had believed, the Lord would have given the blessing.”
Peter believed Christ when He instructed him to launch out into the deep and let down the nets for a catch. The result of his faith and obedience was “great multitude of fishes”. They had toiled all night – with all their professional skill – but caught nothing. This was at the Sea of Galilee (here called the Lake of Gennesaret). A vast multitude of people had gathered to listen to Christ by the seaside because there was no public facility that could accommodate such crowd. Peter volunteered his fishing boat in which Christ stood to minister to the people and in return got this miracle of draught of fishes.
Read yesterday’s Daily Manna here
Like Peter, we can go from drought (lack) to a draught of desired blessings. But we must first be willing to lay our all on the altar of sacrifice to the Lord. If Peter begrudged Christ the use of his boat, he would have missed the great catch. Also, we labour in vain when we rely only on our own wisdom, experience, strength and talent (especially in ministry). We must learn to act at God’s word and the Spirit’s prompting – even when it seems unreasonable in the circumstance.
In addition, disappointments and failures should not deter us from taking steps when God prompts us. No matter how discouraged you have been to have toiled in vain, resolve, like Peter: “…nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.”
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Faith in God’s faithfulness forestalls failures and frustration.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 39-40
Thank you for studying today’s Daily Manna – When Drought Becomes “Draught” – by Pastor W.F Kumuyi
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Daily Manna 28 January 2022
