I think it’s fair to say we all have times where we just tell God to " Go away, this is my area. I know what I am doing! You will just want to change everything! " There are also other times when we are not aware that we have completely shut God out of an area of our lives until He puts a gentle finger on it and we see the need for a change.

        In this passage in the Gospel of Luke we see the fisherman Simon ( not yet in his Peter role ) making the old " if you say so " response - i.e. if you really push me I’ll do it BUT I don’t agree with you. It is worth noting here that Jesus and Simon were already well acquainted as chapter 4 reveals how Jesus healed Simon’s mother in law at his home - Simon knew therefore that Jesus was someone very special even at this early point of His ministry. But when it came to Simon’s job - fishing - special or not this was not the done thing! The timing was pretty rotten too - after all they had been out all night, not on the razzle but casting and hauling stinking heavy nets in and out of the sea.

        One could perhaps well imagine Peter’s thoughts - " what on earth do you know, you’re just a carpenter! And this is not the time to fish otherwise we would still be out there! " Both the man’s pride and his lifetime’s experiences were under serious question and assault here! And to cap it all the less than glamorous job of net cleaning had just been completed!

        The very real possibility that Jesus did not know what He was talking about must have played heavily on these men’s minds (after all Simon’s act of faith meant his brother would have to go along with it too) - what would others say if they went out again and failed - how do you explain to a jeering quayside mob of less than savoury characters that you did it that way because the CARPENTER told you to? Like many of us at the end of our day’s work, Peter no doubt just wanted to get home - metaphorically speaking he had cleared his desk. But if Simon (as Peter) was to fulfil the spiritual purpose of His life He had to trust Jesus with every area of that life including his job-the very thing he thought he knew best.

        Jesus’ desire for us to be an obedient people has not changed in the last 2,000 odd years - for us to fulfil our calling in what some are calling " end time " days we too need to allow Him to put us on the spot. If He gets involved - then we have to change : be it our time, hobbies, jobs, habits, finance etc. Jesus is saying that He wants us to see His power and the potential He has put in each one of us, and that means TRUSTING Him. And as we see His power at work it will cause us to want to go deeper and deeper with Him.

        So what is He saying to us in this new year? How many times have we all sung " I give you my heart ", " all that I am " etc? Are there areas of our lives He is speaking to us about? Remember it was through this trial that Simon left his nets and fishing to become a fisher of men. Even the most miraculous haul of fish (is our modern day equivalent a promotion, bonus, transfer?) could not keep Him on the sea - it’s fair to say Medway could do with such followers today!