We all have made excuses at one point or the other. It is not the right time; God cannot use me; I am too young, I am too old, and I don’t have anything worthwhile to say, to name a few. We see this repeatedly, but when you take that leap of surrendered obedience to what He is speaking to you—there is no turning back. Has He been nudging you to Launch Out? This is your nudge, and it is time.

Reading Luke 5, we learn about the Four Fishermen Called as Disciples.

5 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, 2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. 3 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. 4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. 7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” 11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Lk 5:1–11.

Professional fishermen surely thought they knew the fishing business better than Jesus did. See those excuses again? Simon sure had them but then obeyed. Was he trying to pull one of those I told ya so moments on Jesus? We have toiled all night and caught nothing. Sure sounds familiar, doesn’t it? I worked all night and was tired, or we already washed our nets.

We have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your word, I will let down the net. At Your word…what a great statement of faith. We find that many other times in His Word.

• At Your Word, there was light.

• At Your Word, life came to this earth.

What is He calling you to that you have been putting off? It could be serving as a volunteer mentor here at the Center. Whatever your fears, my friend, He has already gone before you. He has fully equipped you. It is time—time to launch out. When Jesus directs our work, it makes all the difference.

You will never know what He will set in motion through you. Not my will, but Lord, let your will be done through me. By surrendering to God’s will, it is like you are saying, “Nevertheless, at Your word, I will,” What we find over and over is that your story will be used for His glory. Lives will not only be saved here on earth but for eternity.

Are you ready to launch out? You can go ahead and take that next step by completing our volunteer application by clicking below. Maybe you do not have the time, but you have a heart to serve through giving to make the work we do together possible. Consider joining our family of givers called The Heart. It takes roughly $420 to serve one family for an entire year. They receive all of our life-affirming medical services at no cost and are supported through our holistic programs during and after they have their baby. That is roughly $35 a month. If you’d like to join our family of monthly givers, you can do that by clicking below.

We are grateful that you are launching out and joining us as we serve the Lord together!