There is a passage of scripture that could be one the most important passages in the bible. It is Luke 5:5 and the story is about the Apostle Peter.

Early in Jesus’s ministry Peter had heard about Jesus and knew there was something special about him. Peter and his crew had been fishing, “tolling,” all night and they had nothing to show for it and had caught no fish. They brought the boats in that morning and went about cleaning the nets and securing the boats from the night of fishing. Jesus was walking along the shore and there were a lot of people wanting to hear and see Jesus. Jesus asks Peter if he would push the boat out just a little from the shore and let him stand up in the boat and speak to the people. Peter said sure and then went about cleaning his nets while Jesus spoke to the crowd. Side note here, Peter was listening the whole time he was cleaning the nets.

When Jesus finished speaking, he told Peter to let down his nets for a draught (lot of) fish. Keep in mind the boat was just a few feet from the shore. Peter must have thought, what a foolish thing to ask of a fisherman. Then he said the words that probably represented the most important decision Peter had ever made in his life. He said in verse 5,”Master we have toiled all night and have taken nothing, nevertheless, at thy word I will let down the nets.” He let the nets down and they filled with fish to the point that the nets began to break. At that moment Peter became a believer.

This story means so much to me because many times in our lives we have done the right thing, been accountable, been faithful, been a giver and lived the way we should and yet sometimes we have watched others succeed that didn’t do any of the right things. It is easy to look at others and ask why I can’t seem to make it.

In this passage Peter said “nevertheless” I will follow you. Sometimes in our lives we need to have a “nevertheless” moment where even though we may not be in life where we thought we would be, we still say to God, “nevertheless” I will still follow you. In life many times it is about staying with a job or a business or raising the children even though sometimes you feel like quitting. I believe God honors consistency in how we live, how we give and are we giving our best.

Next time you feel like giving up just say in your spirit “nevertheless” and keep going because it will get better and it will improve and you will look back on a life lived honestly and be glad you didn’t falter and or quit. KT