1Start
Simon Peter and his partners had fished all night and caught nothing. Then Jesus told them to go back out and try again (Luke 5:4–5).
2Read Together
Crowds pressed around Jesus beside the Sea of Galilee, which Luke calls the lake of Gennesaret. He got into Simon’s boat and taught the people from it (Luke 5:1–3).
Luke 5:4–8 · King James Version
4Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 6And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 7And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. 8When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
3What It Teaches
Simon was the experienced fisherman, and Jesus had grown up in a carpenter’s home. Simon said, “Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net” (Luke 5:5).
The catch was so large that the net broke and two boats began to sink (Luke 5:6–7). The Lord’s direction can look strange at first, and it leads to more than we could manage alone.
Simon fell at Jesus’s knees and said, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luke 5:8). Jesus answered with comfort and a calling. “Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men” (Luke 5:10).
President Ezra Taft Benson described what happens when we trust the Lord this way.
“Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can.”
4Talk About It
Simon let down the net when it made no sense to him. When has following the Lord’s direction worked out better than you expected?