ESOCS Devotional 30 December 2025 – Obedience to God’s Command
MEMORY VERSE: “When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Luke 5:4 NIV
TEXT: LUKE 5:1-14
o 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.
12 And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and [b]implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
13 Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And He charged him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded.”
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In our memory verse, Jesus instructed Peter to let down the nets for a catch. Jesus’ command was against Peter’s judgement, as an experienced fisherman; nevertheless, he obeyed. Although Jesus may not be working as a fisherman, He is the One who created the fish and the ability to catch them. As in this case with Simon, Jesus did a miracle. He made it possible for Simon to catch more fish than they could handle with doing something that was unheard of.
God may be asking you to do something different or to do something again. You may feel as though you are the expert and that it will not work, but God is the One who has true control of the situation.
Peter let down his nets and caught a multitude of fishes at his obedience. Unknown to him, the large number of fish he caught by the power and authority of Jesus, was a pointer to what will happen, after Jesus had ascended. He will be part of God’s plan to catch a large number of disciples for Christ.( Acts 5:14; 14:1). This, therefore, means that in order to exploit the fullness of what God has for us, we have to carefully listen to His instructions and fully obey. This is what will enable us reach our full potential in Him.
Most often than not, God’s command will not make sense as in the case of Abraham in Gen. 12:14a. But our proper response is to fully obey His instructions. We need to dig deep, as believers, into the word of God, so as to collect instructions for the task ahead.
Consequently, we need to obey and trust Christ to help us father disciples for His rest (Matt. 11:28-30) and joy (John 15:11), and eternal life (John 3:36). We are His current instruments in the fishing of men. Step out and do what He asks of you to do, despite how crazy it might seem to be. God can open the doors for you to catch more than you can handle, when you do it His way and in His time.
CHALLENGES
- When was the last time you received an instruction from God concerning your life and how did you respond to it?
PRAYER POINT
- Lord Jesus, thank you for making us part of your plan to fish disciples for your kingdom, help us to remain faithful at our duty posts.
FURTHER READING: Eccl. 7:1-12; 8:1-8; Luke 5:15-24
ESOCS Devotional 30 December 2025
