God can change your category
Author
Dr. Roberto Miranda
Summary: In Luke chapter 5, Peter allows Jesus to use his boat despite his own failure in fishing. Jesus sees Peter's need and blesses him with a miraculous catch of fish and shows him His Glory. By putting our resources at God's disposal and prioritizing His Kingdom, He can change our category, bless us materially, and let us see His Glory in our lives. Peter went from a fisherman to an apostle of the Kingdom of God, and the same transformation can happen to us if we serve Him.
When Peter agrees to give his boat to the Lord, something happens in his life. There is a transformation, there is a change of category, there is an even material blessing that comes to the life of this humble fisherman. How important it is that we give our life and our resources to the Lord.
Do you know that the Lord Jesus Christ undoubtedly had a clear conscience of Peter's condition when he asked him to let him use his boat? The Lord Jesus Christ knew that Peter had been trying to fish all night and that he had not caught a single fish, and in passing I tell you that we are discussing the passage found in Luke chapter 5 if you want to follow it with me.
So, Peter at that moment when the Lord calls him to let him use his boat, he finds himself in a situation of failure, perhaps in a dire financial situation, because he has not been able to do what he is supposed to do, which is fish and sell those fish and earn your income from them. He is in a situation of failure, of difficulty. The Lord understands this. But before attending to Pedro's need, he asks him to let him use his boat. When Peter allows the Lord to use his boat, the Lord then invites him to go out to sea, and tells him in recognition that He knows his need: Peter, now cast your nets to fish.
And when Peter obeys, we see that the Bible says that they collected an immense quantity of fish so that they had to call others to help them because the boat was sinking. And then Peter amazed by the situation and fearful, because he knows that he is before God himself, only God could do something of that nature, he feels afraid as so many other prophets felt throughout Scripture when they are confronted with the Holiness of God and His power, and he feels like wow, I'm in the midst of the very Holiness of God, and I am a sinful man, I'm going to die confronted with that very powerful Holiness of God. But the Lord calms him down, says: Don't worry, it's okay. From now on you will be a fisher of men.
The Lord then takes care of your personal needs, and this is important for you to understand. The Word of God says: "Seek first the Kingdom of God and his justice and the rest will be added." When we are primarily concerned with the requirements and needs of the Kingdom of God and forget about our needs, we see that the Lord will always attend to our needs as well.
Many people wait to meet their personal needs, deal with their career issues, ambition and all these things, and then they pretend to serve the Lord. God wants it to be the opposite. God needs you to worry about His Kingdom affairs first. So many passages in Scripture remind us of this, we have to give it to the Lord first. The Bible talks about giving the first fruits of our life to the Lord and then He will bless us. In this case we see clearly that situation, where Peter consents to the Lord Jesus Christ using his boat. The Lord tells him nothing that He has plans for him. And then when Peter agrees we see that the Lord shows Peter that He was aware of his need and that He also wanted to bless him materially.
And not only does he receive a material blessing, but the Lord Jesus Christ shows him his Glory. Peter was privileged to see the power of Jesus, his deity, manifested in an exceptional way that very few people ever saw. How wonderful it is that when we serve the Lord, when we give ourselves to Him and His requirements He lets us see His Glory, we see the power of God manifested in an exceptional way in our lives. And finally, the Lord says to him: Peter, now you will be a fisher of men. Peter went from being a mere smelly fisherman to being a man, an apostle of the Kingdom of God and we are still talking about his life. That can happen to you in your life, God can change your category, bless you materially and let you see his Glory also if you serve him and put your resources at his disposal. This meditation is part of a series of five short messages on miraculous fishing and the apostle Peter's call to ministry. In them, Dr. Miranda discusses practical aspects of Christian growth and service: