Jesus In The Boat Of Your Life

Jesus is always looking for a ‘boat’ – a heart, a life, a ministry, a business, a family, a church, a nation to enter into. When Jesus got into Peter’s boat, Peter didn’t shut or shove Jesus out of his boat, he allowed Him in. Allowing Jesus into his boat, gave Peter a life-changing encounter with the Captain of our Salvation.

What happens when the Captain of our Salvation comes into the boat of our lives?

1. He does a new thing in our lives –

When Jesus entered Peter’s boat, something new happened. A new thing is God changing a present situation or condition. It is God changing the way things are or have been for you. Before Jesus entered Peter’s boat, this was Peter’s condition: he had “toiled all night and caught nothing”. He had put in so much effort, but there was no result, there was nothing to show for all his toiling. When Jesus entered Peter’s boat, the situation changed. The report concerning his fishing changed from we have caught nothing, to we have a great number of fish that our net can’t even contain them. His situation turned around from laboring in vain to fruitful efforts (Luke 5:5-6). I pray that as Jesus enters into the boat of your life, your present situation will change. Peter had toiled, labored, tried so hard, yet no change, no improvement, but with Jesus in His boat, the situation turned around because no matter how bad or hopeless a situation is Jesus can turn things around, He can bring about a radical change or transformation.

A new thing is God showing up in something you have been doing for years and giving you a totally new experience. That night wasn’t Peter’s first night in fishing, but it was the first time in all Peter’s years of fishing that he caught this number of fish. What Peter saw and experienced that day, was a totally new experience for Peter in his fishing career.

For Jesus to do a new thing in our lives, we must make the boat of our life available for His use. We all desire and pray for something new; for a turnaround for good in our lives, but are our lives available for the Lord? Jesus entered Peter’s boat because He was looking for a boat to use. “Then He got into one of the boats which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat” (Luke 5:3). Whatever we give to God, He will use for His glory. God is a Master at taking the ordinary and using it for the extra ordinary. He took Peter’s boat and used it as a pulpit. He took Moses’ rod and used it to perform great signs and wonders in Egypt (Exodus 4:1-4, Exodus 6:8-9, 14-21, Exodus 8:5-6, 16-17, Exodus 9:23-26, Exodus 10:13, Exodus 14:15-16). He took the sling and stone in David’s hand and used it to bring down and destroy Goliath (1 Samuel 17: 40, 49-50). It is the devil that enters into a place, takes something or someone and spoils, scatters and destroys that thing or that life (John 10:10). But when Jesus is in something or someone, He takes that thing or person to reveal God’s glory, to demonstrate the awesome power of God. After Jesus finished using Peter’s boat to teach, the miracle working power of God was shown in a miraculous catch of fish. We want the miracles, we want a new thing, but we are not ready to make our boat; our home, our business, our time, our talents, skills and abilities available for God’s use.

For some of us, we allow Jesus into the boat of our life, but give Him ‘terms and conditions’ on how to use our boat. Conditions like my boat is only available for Sunday mornings during Church Service, any time after that you can’t use my boat, you can’t control anything that happens in and with my boat. Peter didn’t give Jesus ‘terms and conditions’. He allowed Jesus use his boat for His own purpose and for how long Jesus wanted to. There were no interruptions while Jesus was teaching, no please excuse me, I need to be somewhere else, do something else. Peter allowed Jesus have His way. Yes, we may have told Jesus come into my boat, come into my life, but are we allowing Him have His way or are we the ones choosing, directing and controlling everything that happens in the boat of our lives.

For the new to come, for God to move us to the next level, for our miracle to come, for the power of God to fill our lives like never before, we must be ready to allow God alter, disrupt and disorganize our own plans, agenda, way of thinking, customs and traditions. Interestingly, when Jesus got into Peter’s boat, He didn’t do the usual things people use boats for. Jesus didn’t enter Peter’s boat and the first thing He starts to do is fish, which boats are usually used for. Jesus didn’t enter into the boat and use it as a means of transportation to get another location. He didn’t enter the boat and use it for a boat ride, to relax, for sightseeing and all the usual things boats are used for. Jesus entered into Peter’s boat and steps out of the norm; He turns Peter’s boat into a pulpit. I can imagine that if it were you and I, we would have said things like sorry, this boat is for fishing not for teaching. I have never used my boat for teaching neither do any of the fishermen around here use their boats for teaching. We would have put up some form of resistance. But Peter gave Jesus permission to alter his plans. Peter was tired, was washing his nets (Luke 5:2), ready to go back home and probably have a good rest, but when Jesus came on the scene, he allowed Jesus disrupt and disorganize his schedule. He was open to a new way of doing things with his boat, different from what he had been used to. No wonder he had such a miraculous catch of fish. How about you and I? Can Jesus shake and change our plans and schedule? Can He use our boats for something that doesn’t fit into the customs and traditions of men? I pray that today as Jesus comes into the boat of our lives, fresh grace to allow Jesus have His way in our lives comes upon each and every one of us.