I believe that the road to a successful fulfilled life is paved in humility and trust.
Remember, God can give us more than we ask or imagine. In Luke 5:4-6, the catch of fish was even greater than they would have expected. God delights in surprising us. I heard it said that “success is getting what you want—true happiness is wanting what you get”.
Do what is right–follow Jesus–apply His wisdom and trust in the outcome and trust in His blessing.
Luke 5:4-7 (TNIV)
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
Be humble in your success. Peter didn’t take credit for the success. He humbled himself before God and came face to face with His own unworthiness. Muhammad Ali was about to take off on an airplane, the stewardess reminded him to fasten his seat belt. He got smart, and said, “Superman don’t need no seat belt.” She looked at him and said, “Superman don’t need no airplane, either.”– he fastened his belt.
Luke 5:8-11 (TNIV)
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
Peter immediately recognizes the miracle that has occured. He is awestruck by Jesus! He also immediately recognizes how insignificant he is in comparison to Jesus. I believe that what was equally amazing to Peter was that here, Jesus cares about their day-to-day activities and understands their needs.
Here is the point: Jesus, indeed God, is not only interested in saving you, but He is also very interested helping you through your day-to-day activities.The key is, we must first surrender to Him. Any of us can believe in Jesus. However, as you travel on this road to the success of a fulfilled life, you must do more than simply believe. You must surrender, recognize your own sinfulness and and follow Jesus like these simple fishermen did.
Following Jesus means leaving the past behind and committing your future to Him. In that, you will find success in the fulfillment of your life.
