“And it came to pass, that as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And 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. And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And 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. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: and so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him” (Luke 5:1-11).
This is a lengthy excerpt, but every verse is necessary to get the complete picture of Simon in his journey from doubt to dedication. And the reason such importance is found in this account is because this is a trip that many must take in their lives. Some are blessed with the opportunity to be reared in a Christian home and in a Godly environment to such an extent that doubt never really becomes an issue. However, for the vast majority of the world, whether reared in a Christian home or not, doubt is a hurdle over which many must jump if ever they will become a faithful Christian. What is seen in the life of Peter as he makes this trip that can benefit modern man in his similar state?
First, notice that doubt, to a degree, was an issue with Peter in the beginning. When Jesus first made his appearance and requested that Peter launch back out and prepare for a great catch, Peter was less than immediately responsive. In fact, he tries to reason with the Lord as to why it would be of no benefit for them to re-launch into the deep. But, not being one to argue, Peter hesitatingly did as he was told. No, the degree of doubt in Peter’s heart was not as great as it is in the hearts of some. Peter did not doubt to the degree of atheism, agnosticism, skepticism, or any other “-ism.” It was just, that from experience, Peter doubted the result would be worth the effort. Modern man suffers with doubt from one end of the spectrum to the other, all of varying degrees. But the important point is seen, that until doubt is overcome, dedication will never be found. What if Peter had adamantly refused to do as he was asked by Jesus and regardless of any further persuasion, his boat remained docked? Peter’s doubt would have completely defined his character the rest of his life. The doubt itself was not lethal, but only because he allowed his doubt to be tested. He was willing, for the sake of surety, to step outside of his comfort zone and see if there was something to this claim. Too many people in life are satisfied in their doubt, not willing for it to be tested even for the sake of surety. Peter’s journey from doubt to dedication demanded that his doubt be put to the test and let Jesus prove Himself to him. Such must take place if doubt is going to be defeated today. We must be willing to step outside of the comfort of doubt and allow God to prove Himself through His word which is truth, and when we allow that to happen, He will succeed every time to such an extent that we, like Thomas, will fall prostrate in awe and loudly and proudly proclaim, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). Peter proves to us that doubt is not a death nail to the soul, but merely an obstacle that must be overcome. And when that takes place, we, too, will be on our way from doubt to dedication.