"But at your word..."
Luke 5:1-10:
1 Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret; 2 and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 3 And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little distance from the land. And He sat down and continued teaching the crowds from the boat. 4 Now when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." 5 Simon responded and said, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets." 6 When they had done this, they caught a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to tear; 7 so they signaled to their partners in the other boat, to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, to the point that they were sinking. 8 But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" 9 For astonishment had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and likewise also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not fear; from now on you will be catching people."
It is not easy to set aside our own doubts and concerns and still carry out an instruction we recognize as coming from the Lord. But that is exactly what Peter and Ananias do in the two situations we are about to look at.
Ananias had certainly heard with fear that Saul was coming to Damascus to persecute the Christians there as well. And now the unthinkable happened to the God-fearing Ananias: the Lord sent him to this very Saul (Acts 9:11). This must have seemed almost like a death sentence to Ananias. Ananias knew neither what had happened to Saul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1–9) nor what the Lord had in store for Saul.
How would you and I have reacted? How would we have dealt with our concerns and feelings? Even if we do not find ourselves in the same situation as Ananias, we may find ourselves in one that seems just as dangerous. Ananias expresses his concerns and pours out his heart before the Lord. But not reproachfully, not rebelliously. We, too, may tell Him our concerns. The decisive factor, however, is how we proceed afterwards. Ananias had expressed his concerns, and in His goodness, the Lord gives His servant an answer. No matter how dangerous the task may have been, the servant ultimately sets out obediently at his Lord's word.
In Luke 5, we see how the Lord instructs Peter to go out onto the lake in broad daylight to fish. In this case, the instruction was not dangerous, as it was for Ananias. An experienced fisherman would have considered it foolish, pointless, and hopeless at best. Fishing during the day went against all common sense for a fisherman. Everyone knew that fish came to the surface at night and could be caught that way. Peter knew this, even though he had just spent a whole night fishing without success. How much more pointless must it be now during the day? And how does he react? He also expresses his concerns: “Master, we have worked hard all night and caught nothing...” But then he adds the crucial sentence: “... but at your word I will let down the nets” (v. 5). No matter how foolish, pointless, and hopeless the instruction might seem, his master's word was enough for him.
Both men are given a task. Neither of them understands it. For Ananias, it is hazardous; for Peter, it is foolish, pointless, and hopeless. Both express their concerns, and both go anyway. Both are allowed to see God's wonderful work. Their behavior and the outcome of both situations should also inspire us to trust and obey our Lord, even when we do not understand him.
