Luke 5:5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”

Looking down at his empty boat, Peter bemoaned his night’s failure. They hadn’t caught a thing. But at Jesus’ command he went back out and let down his nets…

6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 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. 

But at his moment of human failure, Jesus took that failure and opened up his vision…

 10 And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid;  from now on you will be catching men.”

Jesus used Peter’s earthly struggle to call him to a higher work, just like the Father had done so many times in the past…

• If it weren’t for Joseph’s trials he would not have been able to save his father’s house and feed the whole world through the famine.
• If Naomi hadn’t fallen into poverty in Moab, Ruth would never have met Boaz and she would have had no part in the coming of the Messiah.
• If the widow of Zarephath hadn’t given the prophet of God her last drop of oil and handful of meal, she would not have benefited from one of the most glorious miracles of the Old Testament.

For those whose heart is the Lord’s, who have given their life to Him, their earthly trials also open them up to God’s vision of a higher work. In business, as in life, there is a blessing hidden behind the cloud if we will only watch for Jesus to come on the scene. All we need to do is to follow as He leads, and where He leads is always a higher calling.

I have known many failures in my life, but as I look back at them I can see the higher work that Jesus was calling me to. Sadly, there were many times that in my earthly and fleshly struggles I missed His call. And, unlike Peter going back out on the water, I continued to look down at an empty boat.

Fortunately, as I have gotten older and a little wiser, I now look up instead of down because I know that my failures are just a stepping stone to something much higher…

Rom 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.