Lord, deliver us from anxious toil

In one of the instances in Luke 5, Simon Peter was clearly having a bad day. He had been out fishing all night with his friends and had caught nothing. Probably if you had had a conversation with him that morning, he would have told you about how hard the times were, how frustrating a fishing career was becoming, or what a hard place Lake Galilee was to make a living.

Hours later, the same lake that had given them nothing but empty toil, at Jesus’ instruction, brought forth such a catch of fish Peter and his crew could not haul it in without help. Even with help, it threatened to tear the nets and sink their boats. Nothing much had changed about the lake. If anything, the conditions had gotten worse. Ideally, fish are caught at night not in the high noon day sun. And here was Jesus instructing Simon Peter to go fishing right where he had failed a few hours prior, and at the wrong time.

Jesus told him “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

Peter probably had more than one excuse lined up. He was the career fisherman. He knew how things are done. He had been there done that. He had just cleaned his nets. It was daytime. But he said, “We toiled all night and caught nothing. But at your word I will let down the nets.”

And what resulted was the miraculous catch. The catch of fish just needed a command from the Son of God, not necessarily an all night of labour. Where Peter toiled all night, at Jesus’ word, there was abundance.

Is it any wonder Scripture tells us not to worry about life –what we will eat and drink or what we will wear? What other things fall under this bracket of “worries about life”? How our kids will turn out? Where we will retire? How those bills will get paid? Jesus said the Father knows we need these things. And we are valuable to Him, especially us who have been called into His family. If he could give His son for us, what is school fees? What is rent? What’s a job? We can’t be anxious about the same things those who do not know God are anxious about.

Do not be anxious about your sustenance. In that place you anxiously toil by yourself for days or years, God can create a miraculous catch by one command. God can give success and answer prayers in places where we tried and failed by human effort.

Securing the bag

Often we feel as if all we are doing is running helter skelter trying to secure our futures and those of our families. I can tell you that the men and women in our cities don’t rest because they gotta secure the bag. For us in Kenya, our long night of fishing includes grumbling about ‘Nairobi shamba la mawe’, “Ruto’s economy’, a new Housing Fund levy and other taxes that still milk us. The children are not spared either as school buses begin hooting at 5am and the last homework book gets closed at 11pm.

With the current economic times, we may feel like Peter; we are toiling and toiling but have nothing to show for it although we can’t dare become discouraged or give up.

But from several instances in scripture we see there are really no dry places/careers/economies/countries — just places that need the saviour’s loving blessing. Hard places can overflow with opportunity when the saviour so commands. It is not about where we are but whom we are with. Remember that children’s hymn, “With Jesus in the boat I can smile in the storm?” God turns wasteland into a place overflowing with streams and helps us produce fruit even in a year of drought.

The difference between anxious empty toil and overflowing abundance is God’s manifesting presence. It is He who gives sleep to his beloved while the rest of the world is rising early and staying up late, toiling for bread. Psalm 127:2. Anything we are doing apart from the Lord is anxious toil. And toil is toil even when it brings home the bread. It results in tired hearts because life becomes about striving. If the Lord does not build the house, the builders labouring in vain. Anxious toil. If the Lord does not protect the city the watchmen stand stand guard in vain.

God alone can turn a place of fruitless toiling to a place of abundant catch. Fruitfulness in our labours comes from being with the saviour and faithfully following his commands even when we think we know better.

Are you like, tired of anxious empty toil, about worrying about the need to secure the future by sheer will, muscle and manifesting power? Have you been toiling and your bread is still anxiety and you can see it’s cousin panic in the horizon because time is running out?

Christ has a call for rest for all who are tired and burnt out. In Him we learn the unhurried rhythms of grace. The Father tells us to seek his kingdom and his righteousness and all these other things we are running after are taken care of in Him. Colossians 1:9-14 gives us a view of what kingdom priorities look like — filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding; walking in a manner worthy of the Lord and pleasing Him in ever way; bearing fruit in every good work; increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power for endurance and joyful patience; giving thanks to the Father for our inheritance in Christ …

We do not have to hold the world together ourselves, and connive and cheat while at it to secure the bag. Christ can bring a miraculous catch of fish in dry places. Where we would have laboured for years, by God’s blessing we can receive abundance through just one instruction or unction.

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus
Just to take Him at His Word
Just to rest upon His promise
Just to know, “Thus saith the Lord”

The good shepherd shall lead us to green pastures and quiet waters. He says He will. Paul told the saints in Phillipi, “Do not be anxious about anything [not about the past, not about the present, not about the future; anything covers everything]. But in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

What are the things that are keeping us running up and down day and night? Will we trust that God knows these and will take care of us and our concerns because we have believed, trusted in and relied on Him? Could we present these to God in prayer and find rest for our weary souls in knowing that God will take care of us? Are you willing to trust the saviour today and find rest in his yoke? How are you going to seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness as your highest priority?

When Simon Peter saw the catch of fish, he fell down at Jesus’ feet saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” And funny enough, the greatest fishing day also became the last for these fishermen (although we know after Jesus’ death, discouraged Peter led his crew back to the water) because Jesus had just taught them that they need not worry about sustenance aka bread and butter problems; He is all they needed. So at the peak of their fishing career, they brought their boats to land, left everything and followed Christ.

How has God’s miraculous provision, favour et al led you a place of repentance, deeper trust, worship or surrender? May we become convinced that Christ in our boat is more than enough for us, that we may cease from our anxious toil and trust the shepherd of our hearts. God knows our deepest needs and He will take care of us.