God’s Not Done — Week Four

Luke 5:1–11

Have you ever reached the place where you were not lazy—you were just done?

You gave it your energy. You gave it your time. You tried to make it work. But after a while, you did not want another motivational speech, another strategy, or anybody telling you to “just try harder.”

You were not asking for help.

You were looking for an exit.

Take me off the group chat.

Cancel the meeting.

Wash the nets.

I’m done.

Being done does not always mean you are lazy or faithless. Sometimes it means you are tired. Sometimes disappointment has drained your inspiration. You can still love God, come to church, worship, serve, and believe that God is able—while quietly hoping He does not ask you to deal with that particular thing again.

That is where we find Peter in Luke 5.

Peter and his crew have worked all night and caught nothing. The boats are back on shore. The nets are being washed. Their body language says, “The day is over.”

They are not preparing to go back out.

They are cleaning up after what did not work.

But when Jesus steps onto the shore, He sees something different.

Peter sees an empty boat.

Jesus sees something He can use.

That has been the message of this entire series.

God’s not done when life gets rough.

God’s not done while you are waiting.

God’s not done with all of us.

And God’s not done with your yes.

Before Jesus fills Peter’s nets, changes his direction, or calls him into purpose, Jesus begins with one simple request:

“Peter, may I use your boat?”

Peter does not know everything Jesus is about to do. He does not know where this yes will take him. He only knows Jesus is asking for something he already has.

His first answer is simple:

“Yes, You can use what I have.”

Yes, You Can Use What I Have

Jesus is teaching along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and the crowd is pressing in to hear the Word of God.

There is no platform.

There is no elevated stage.

There are only two empty boats sitting at the water’s edge.

The fishermen are finished with them for the day, but just because the boats are not being used does not mean they are no longer useful in the hands of Jesus.

Just because Peter was done did not mean Jesus was done with Peter.

Before the overflowing nets, the miraculous catch, and the life-changing call, Peter makes what he has available to Jesus.

That boat was not insignificant. It represented his livelihood, profession, and ability to provide for his family. Peter’s first yes placed something valuable into the hands of Jesus.

Your yes is not always cheap.

Sometimes your yes will cost you something.

It may cost time.

It may cost convenience.

It may require your gift, resources, consistency, praise, service, or obedience.

But when you know who is asking, you can trust Him with what you have.

Peter’s yes was personal. Jesus was not a complete stranger to him. Luke had already shown us that Jesus entered Simon’s home and healed his mother-in-law. Peter did not know everything about Jesus, but he had seen enough to trust Him.

The same is true for us.

We know too much about God’s faithfulness to treat Him like a stranger.

We have seen Him make ways.

We have seen Him provide strength.

We have seen Him bring healing.

We have seen Him offer forgiveness.

We have seen Him carry us through seasons we did not believe we would survive.

We may not know everything God will do next, but we know enough about His character to place what we have into His hands.

Peter’s yes was also bigger than Peter.

Because he made his boat available, an entire crowd heard the Word of God.

Your yes to serve may help someone feel welcomed.

Your yes to teach may help a child discover Jesus.

Your yes to sing, give, invite, pray, set up, or remain consistent may create room for somebody else to encounter God.

Your gift may be in your hands, but your yes can become a blessing to the whole family.

Somebody said yes so you could be here.

Somebody prayed for you.

Somebody sacrificed for you.

Somebody served so you could encounter God.

Now it may be your turn to say yes.

God’s not done with your yes because your yes is rarely only about you.

Notice that Jesus does not begin by asking Peter to leave everything. He simply asks him to push the boat a little way from shore.

Sometimes we become afraid of the whole future when Jesus is only asking us for the next yes.

Peter’s first yes did not take him across the world. It only moved him a little way from shore. But that small yes positioned him to hear the next word.

Obedience does not always begin with knowing the complete plan. It begins by trusting Jesus with the next step.

“Lord, You can use my time.”

“Lord, You can use my gift.”

“Lord, You can use my resources.”

“Lord, You can use my story.”

“Lord, this is all I have—but You can use it.”

Peter’s first yes gave Jesus access to his boat. But allowing Jesus to use your resources is one level of surrender.

Allowing Jesus to direct your decisions is another.

Yes, at Your Word, I’ll Try Again

After Jesus finishes speaking to the crowd, He speaks directly to Peter:

“Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”

The boat Peter made available has become the place where Jesus gives him a personal instruction.

Peter said, “Yes, You can use what I have.”

Now Jesus is asking, “Will you trust Me with what you do?”

Here comes the tension.

Jesus is asking Peter to return to the work he has already finished.

Peter has experience on his side. He and his crew worked through the night, the most productive time for their trade. They have exhausted their energy, cleaned their nets, and returned empty.

Peter’s response carries the weight of total exhaustion:

“Master, we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing.”

In other words:

“We gave this everything we had.”

“We emptied the tank.”

“We have nothing to show for it.”

That is a difficult place to be.

“I’ve had enough of this dream not becoming reality. I’m washing my nets.”

“I’ve had enough of working without being appreciated. I’m washing my nets.”

“I’ve had enough of trying to repair this relationship. I’m washing my nets.”

“I’ve had enough of putting in the effort and seeing no change. I’m washing my nets.”

Peter has expertise, evidence, exhaustion, and disappointment on his side.

But Jesus is asking him to take Him at His word.

The responsibility of the believer is not to allow fatigue to erase the character of God.

When present circumstances are telling us no, we must remember who gave the instruction.

Biblical remembrance is more than retrieving information. It is allowing God’s past faithfulness to shape our present obedience.

Peter has to make a decision:

Will the memory of last night have more authority than the word Jesus is speaking right now?

Obedience does not mean pretending your experience never happened. Obedience means deciding that your experience will not have the final word.

Peter says:

“But if You say so, I’ll let the nets down again.”

The difference was not a new boat.

It was not a new net.

It was not a new fisherman.

The difference was a word from Jesus and a yes from Peter.

There are moments when what we need is not another strategy, another connection, or another burst of human effort.

We need a word from the Lord.

At His word, I will get the professional help I need alongside my faith.

At His word, I will stop negotiating with the sin that keeps calling me back.

At His word, I will ask for forgiveness and practice repentance.

At His word, I will see my workplace as a mission field instead of merely a source of frustration.

At His word, I will choose grace, forgiveness, and humility in my relationships.

At His word, I will worship even when the night produces nothing—because my praise is rooted in who He is, not only in what I caught.

Peter says yes, and the nets begin to fill.

They fill until they start to break. Peter has to call his partners because what Jesus is doing is greater than Peter can manage by himself.

But before we celebrate the full nets, we need to watch Peter’s response.

Sometimes the greatest thing on the other side of your yes is not what Jesus places into your hands.

It is what Jesus reveals about Himself.

Yes, You Can Use My Life

The greatest result of Peter’s yes is not what ends up in his nets.

It is what he discovers about the Man standing in his boat.

Peter does not attempt to package the miracle, market the strategy, or build a fishing empire. He does not ask Jesus to return the following night so they can repeat the formula.

Peter does not celebrate the fish.

He falls at the feet of Jesus.

Before the catch, Peter calls Jesus “Master.”

After the catch, he calls Him “Lord.”

Something has changed in Peter’s understanding. Jesus is no longer merely a respected teacher offering unusual instructions. Peter has encountered authority that cannot be explained by human expertise.

The miracle did not simply change Peter’s circumstances.

It changed Peter’s confession.

When Peter sees the holiness of Jesus, he also sees the truth about himself:

“Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.”

But here is the good news:

Jesus does not do what Peter asks.

Peter says, “Go away.”

Jesus stays.

Jesus does not say, “You are right, Peter. You are too sinful for Me to use.”

He says, “Do not be afraid.”

Before Jesus gives Peter an assignment, He gives him assurance.

Peter’s future with Jesus will not be built upon terror, shame, or the need to prove himself. It will be built upon grace.

Jesus is not merely looking for another worker. He is calling Peter into a relationship.

Before Peter becomes a fisher of people, Peter becomes a follower of Jesus.

God’s not done with your yes, but your value to God is not limited to what He can get out of you.

He wants you.

Not only your boat.

Not only your gift.

Not only your work.

Not only your service.

He wants your life.

For those who have never surrendered their lives to Jesus, this is the moment to stop depending upon your goodness, accomplishments, and carefully constructed plans to save you.

You do not simply need Jesus to improve the life you are already controlling.

You need Him to forgive you, lead you, and become Lord of your life.

But this invitation is not only for people coming to Jesus for the first time.

Some of us have been following Jesus, serving in church, volunteering, and doing all the right things—but somewhere along the way, we started doing God’s work without remaining close to God’s heart.

We became busy for Him without remaining surrendered to Him.

Our yes became routine.

Our service became mechanical.

Our faith started feeling more like responsibility than relationship.

Jesus is inviting some of us to give Him our lives again—not to be saved again, but to become freshly surrendered.

“Lord, I have been working in my own strength.”

“Lord, I have been trying to control the outcome.”

“Lord, I have been doing the activity without depending upon Your presence.”

“Today, my answer is yes again.”

Peter’s first yes gave Jesus access to his boat.

His second yes took him back into deep water.

His final yes gave Jesus his life.

That is the movement of discipleship.

Yes, You can use what I have.

Yes, at Your word, I will try again.

Yes, You can use my life.

Do not fall asleep at the shoreline.

Do not allow last night’s disappointment to become the final word over your future.

Do not assume that because your nets are empty, God is finished.

Peter saw an empty boat.

Jesus saw a platform.

Peter saw a failed night.

Jesus saw an opportunity for revelation.

Peter saw himself as an exhausted fisherman.

Jesus saw a disciple who would help change the world.

Whatever you have, place it in His hands.

Whatever He tells you, take Him at His word.

Wherever He leads you, give Him your life.

Your story is not over.

Your faith is not finished.

Your purpose is still unfolding.

God is still working.

God is still faithful.

And God’s not done with your yes.