Mensa Otabil - Launch Out (10/22/2025)
Welcome to day number six of our fresh start as we trust God to do something new in our lives at the beginning of this year and throughout the year. So, we look at Luke chapter 5, verses 4 and 5. When he had stopped speaking, he said to Simon, «Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.» 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.»
God’s word often contradicts our reality. When you are in one place in life, God is speaking about another place in your life. After a very frustrating night of losses and not making any gains, Jesus encounters Peter and instructs him to do something very outstanding. He tells Peter to launch out into the deep for a catch, and this is the command that Jesus gave to Peter.
Now, you have to understand that we know Jesus Christ now more fully than Peter knew him at this time in Jesus’s life. He knew Jesus probably as a carpenter and as a beginning preacher or rabbi. Peter was an expert fisherman, and a village carpenter who had just started his ministry. This man, talking and preaching, comes and tells him something about fishing. So, what does Peter have to do? Is he going to obey Jesus Christ or not?
Jesus says to him, «Launch out into the deep.» That’s a very bold statement. It means go into unfamiliar territories. For us, it means doing something that is beyond our scope of experience. When God tells you to launch out into the deep, He' s inviting you to do something that’s big, awesome, and unfamiliar. That’s what Jesus tells Peter, and Peter responds and says, «Lord, we’ve toiled all night long.» What a statement of frustration! Many of us probably have felt like Peter at one point in our lives.
«I’ve struggled. I’ve worked hard, and there’s no result.» It may be with your health, it may be with a relationship, or perhaps with your finances, or with your spiritual life and faith walk with God. You just see that you’re making all the effort but no results. So, what do you do when you’ve tried and tried with no results, and Jesus comes and says, «Launch out into the deep»?
Well, Peter said, «Nevertheless, at your word.» In other words, «I know about fishing, but I trust you that what you say goes beyond what I know.» Jesus was a carpenter, but His word worked for a fisherman, and that same Jesus can speak to you. Maybe you’re an accountant, or perhaps you’re a doctor, a lawyer, or a pharmacist. You do one work or another and may wonder, «What has Jesus got to do with my profession? Can His word work for me?»
Yes, His word worked for Peter, a fisherman; His word will work for you, a medical doctor, a lawyer, a dressmaker, or whatever you do. His word works for you, and as we begin our year, He says, «You may have had a frustrating 2022, but launch out into the deep in 2023.»
You say, «Lord, it didn’t work for me; I don’t want to face disappointment again.» He says, «Launch out into the deep.» What are you going to do? Trust in your own judgment or trust in the Lord Jesus Christ? He says this year you’re going to do big, bold, better, and greater things for Him. It’s time to launch out into the deep, not just into the deep, but for a catch, for a harvest, for a gathering, for success. It will be well with you in 2023.
Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, your word never fails. At your word, I launch out into the year to gather my harvest. In Jesus' name, amen.