By Sandra Sheridan

 Luke 5:4 “When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’”

Hebrews tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. And those determined to trust God’s divine power and wisdom respond with more than words. True faith always walks hand in hand with action.

Faith is not an easy commodity. The words “I have faith” are only words unless the speaker steps out into the unknown. But this can be a little scary. Yet those who hear God’s word and believe it are not merely throwing caution to the wind. Instead, they are taking a calculated risk, launching out with confidence because they fully believe they are not alone. This kind of active faith in God always yields results.

One of my favorite Bible stories begins with Jesus teaching a crowd of followers. The eager listeners pressed in to hear the word of God spoken by a man who could do miracles. To create more space Jesus asked a local fisherman if He could borrow his boat. Simon complied and shoved off, anchoring a few feet from the land. From the floating platform Jesus continued teaching.

When He finished, Jesus engaged Simon. “Launch out into the deep,” He said, “And let down your nets for a catch.”

I can only imagine what might have gone through Simon’s head at this request.

I’m the fisherman, not you!

This isn’t the right time of day to fish!

I’ll look foolish if this fails!

But Simon had listened to Jesus’ teaching and decided to cast his fate with the teacher. He said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but nevertheless I will do as You say.”

Imagine Simon’s surprise when masses of fish swarmed to the boat and overloaded the nets. “Help us,” Simon’s crew bellowed to the neighboring fisherman, “we’re gonna sink!” The partners hustled to the rescue. But even with two boats, the catch overwhelmed the vessels. And amazement seized them all.

The outcomes of Simon’s small act of faith were many. His launch into the deep brought about not only an incredible catch of fish but also a change in those who witnessed the results. The fisherman stood slack-jawed at what had happened. Three of them changed occupation by responding to the call to now fish for men. And all these left everything to follow Jesus!

It makes me wonder what would happen if those of us who say, “I have faith” would actually step out into the unknown at God’s call. For true faith always walks hand in hand with action.

So go ahead and take the plunge! Who knows what fish will fill our nets if we believe God and launch out into the deep!