Once Upon a Time

Recently I happened upon the equivalent of a ‘Once upon a time story‘ in the Bible.

Luke Chapter 5 begins like this: One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on his to listen to the word of God. The story continues all the way to …And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus, which is the Bible story version of, “and they all lived happily ever after.” (Read the whole story here. Luke 5:1-11

Not long ago, I reread the passage and discovered something new about myself.

I discovered I am a lot like Simon the fisherman. I’m not lazy. I’m not idle. I’m a hard worker, washing my nets while listening to Jesus speak the word of God.

I’m not working alone. I work alongside other fishermen, caring for my equipment after a long shift with not much to show for my effort. I, like Simon, am caught up in the carrying out my daily duties, when Jesus steps into my boat and asks me to push it out a little farther into the water.

He sits in the boat and teaches. What follows is the life defining moment when He speaks and says, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”

A Secret Longing

Like Simon, I question this move since we’ve been working all night and haven’t caught a thing.

My husband, Ben is my fishing partner. We’ve served together in ministry throughout our 33 years of marriage. For the last few years, we’ve been ‘fishing’s the Texas Hill Country shepherding a small, faithful group of Christ followers and caring for the equipment God has entrusted us with.

Our local church, The Sanctuary of Kerrville, loves and serves our community well. Together, we stay busy mending, washing nets, and listening to Jesus…but truth be told, we’re all secretly longing to experience a miracle of net breaking proportions.

Now, after a season of preparation and prayer, Jesus asks us to push out where it is deeper. He’s asking us to cast our net in deeper waters where He is still an unknown God to many and where the number of evangelical Christians is less than 3%.

God is calling our family to take a risk, to return to central Mexico and be ambassadors for Jesus Christ.

So like Simon, we respond, “Master, if you say so, we’ll let down the nets again.”

A Glimpse Into the Future

In the midst of the miraculous catch, when the heavy nets were so full they began to tear, a shout for help immediately brought the partners in the other boat to their aid.

In the same way that God provided for fishing partners to help Simon haul in the enormous catch, He revealed to me the importance and necessity of having a team that I could call on in a moments notice for help. God reassured me that my family would not be taking this risk on our own.

He granted me the gift to see a momentary glimpse into the future. I was left shaken, yet confident.

God allowed me to to envision the Argil Family and the BrillaLife Ministry casting the net into deeper waters. The response to the gospel will be so staggering, we will shout for help to bring in the catch of new believers. When we call, immediately our ministry partners and supporting churches will rush to assist us.

For the glory of God and for the honor of His great name,  many will experience saving grace that comes from knowing Jesus.

Just like Simon, James and John, I am awestruck and amazed. I cry and fall to my knees before Jesus and find myself repeating Simon Peter’s words.

Jesus, I’m too much of a sinner to be around you.

I’m afraid.

I’m not prepared.

But then I hear Him whisper to me. “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!”

Living Happily Ever After

I choose to leave everything and follow Jesus on this journey. I have discovered that following Jesus and fishing for people is the secret to living a happily-ever-after kind of life.

Maybe you’re ready to start living your best life right now.  Follow Jesus and   “…Keep on loving others as long as life lasts…”Hebrews 6:11