By Michael Adekoya – “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.” Luke 5:5.
Dear Reader, as we read in the text above, a lot of people, possibly including you are operating under fruitless efforts right now that they need to be saved, delivered and set free by the power of God. I decree that this is your testimony in the name of Jesus. Amen. By fruitless efforts, I mean; when one labours without anything to show for it, when one labours more than the expected results, when one labours without reaping from his/her efforts, when one labours and another reaps his/her efforts, when one labours but dies before his/her harvest or become indisposed and not able to reap from his/her harvest, when one labours without yielding or receiving the expected results, when there are no fruits of one’s labour, when one’s efforts is not corresponding with the results and when one labours for nothing or for labouring sake.
My friend, you may want to ask for the causes or the reasons why one can experience fruitless efforts. The first reason could be the work of the devil. Imagine someone who planted good seeds in his farmland expecting to reap good harvest but eventually turn out to be thorns that led to bad, horrible and fruitless efforts. The Bible says it was the enemy, Satan that did this – Matt. 13:25-28. Also in the book of Judges chapter 6:3-6. The Bible says that whenever the children of Israel laboured, sowed and ready to harvest their sweat, the Midianites and the Amalekites would come and destroy their harvest causing them to labour in vain. From these passages of the Bible, it shows that it is possible for the devil to cause one to experience fruitless efforts. As you are reading this article, if the enemy is causing you to labour in vain, his power over you shall be rendered useless in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Another cause of fruitless efforts is God. Yes, God! God can make even His own elect to experience fruitless efforts. Read what the Bible says in Hag. 1:2-11 ““Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, saying: ‘These people say, “The time has not come, the time that the LORD’s house should be built.” ’ ” Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying, “ Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your panelled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?” Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider your ways! “You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.” Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider your ways! Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the LORD. “ You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says the LORD of hosts. “Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house. Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.”
My friend, if the people of God deliberately neglect the work, the will or the plan of God, He can cause His people like the Bible passage we read earlier to experience fruitless efforts. Can you consider your way if you are experiencing hardship, struggle without breakthroughs, failures, lack of progress, frustration or lack of results at the moment. Have you checked your love for God, for the things of God, for His house, for His work or your love for His people. If you are pursuing your own things at the expense of the things of God, watch out. If you have other priorities ahead of God, be careful. If you are postponing what God asks you to do now till another convenient time, it can be dangerous for you. If you are in any of these situations at the moment, please change your ways, decide to make God your first priority. If you do, the promise of restoration in Joel 2:25-26, that is, ““So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame.” Shall manifest in your life and in all you do in Jesus name. Amen.
My friend, fruitless efforts can also be caused when one embarks on any project, business, work or ministry that God does not approve. I don’t care how smart you may be, how connected, how experienced or how determined you may be, if you embark on anything against the overall plan and purpose of God or His specific plan for your life, you may experience fruitless efforts. Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.” Ask Prophet Balaam, who tried to operate outside the will of God (Num. 22:7-13), he tried to curse the people of God against the word of God, he laboured in vain and all his efforts were fruitless. Are your are in that situation right now, you know that God did not approve what you are doing, what you are doing is against the word of God, you are operating in a known sinful business, you are robbing Peter to pay Paul, you are causing others pain, anguish, problems and regrets to enrich yourself, to get promotion or to achieve your life goals, my friend, your efforts shall be fruitless although it may seem to be progressing at the moment, but you shall live to regret it and reap the fruits of evil sooner or later if you do not repent and change your way right now.
God wants us to be fruitful, the first blessing He pronounced on humanity is to be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1:28). Jesus cursed an unfruitful fig tree (Mark 11:13-14). God commanded an unfruitful tree to be uprooted (Luke 13:6-7). Even Jesus said explicitly in John 4:35-38 that “And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not laboured; others have laboured, and you have entered into their labours”. In other words, God wants us to even reap where we have not laboured. God wants us to labour and to reap from our labour and God wants us to gather harvest (fruits) from our labours. But how can we achieve this? Let’s learn some principles of fruitfulness from the passage of our text. That is, Luke 5:1-11. Peter was moved from fruitlessness to fruitfulness, from a failure to success, from vain labour to abundant harvest and from nothing to more than enough. My friend, God can still do the same in our lives if we allow Him by following the steps of the Apostle Peter.
Firstly, Peter submitted his fishing boat to Jesus – Luke 5:3. He allowed Jesus to use his tool, his source of living, his money making machinery or his only source of investment as a preaching pulpit. He made Jesus’ desire his desire, he surrendered all that he had for Jesus to use. My friend, what is your ‘fishing boat’? Your business, your talent, your time, your heart, your career, your ministry or whatever you have, give it to Jesus today willingly, let Him have it, let Him use it, them you shall experience fruitlessness as Peter did in Jesus name. Amen. There was a boy who gave Jesus his lunch pack in John 6:1-14, he had more than enough back in returns. Will you do the same today to come out fruitless efforts? Well, the choice is yours!
Secondly, Peter obeyed His word. Luke 5:5. We are created by God’s word, we can only survive, succeed and be fruitful in life by following His word. When Peter obeyed Jesus’ instruction, he experienced the kind of result that he has never had before. His instruction did not make sense to Peter, the professional fishermen don’t go fishing during the day, not to talk of the fruitless efforts that he had experienced all night, but he obeyed and enjoyed the tremendous, net breaking breakthrough of his lifetime. My friend, God’s word may sound silly, stupid, void of sense, irrational or unscientific to you, but if you obey, the result will speak for itself. Isaac obeyed God when there was famine by staying where God asked him to stay, he sowed in the land despite the famine and he reaped hundredfold (Gen. 26:2-3, 12-13). To the extent that he became very prosperous in famine and was the envy of his generation. Why? He obeyed the word of God. My friend, you too can change your current fruitless efforts situation by obeying what God has said in His word concerning your situation, by obeying His personal instruction for you, your life and situation as Peter did.
Thirdly, Peter’s efforts and experience yielded him nothing, but when he has Jesus as his Partner in business, he was bountifully fruitful and an end came to fruitless efforts in his life. The Bible says, “…For by strength no man shall prevail.” 1 Sam. 2:9. Also, it says, “Horses can be prepared for the day of battle, but victory is of the Lord” Pro. 21:31. “So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.” Zech. 4:6. My friend, don’t rely on your efforts alone, depend on God as if all depends on Him only. He is the True Vine, we are His Branches, without Him, we can never succeed.
Another way to end fruitless efforts in our lives is by receiving the blessing or the favour of God. The Bible says, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.” 1 Cor. 3:6-7. The favour or the blessing of God on anything we lay our hands on shall cause our efforts to prosper, to be fruitful and blossom. The Bible says, “I returned and saw under the sun that— The race is not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to men of understanding, Nor favour to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all.”
Eccl. 9:11. In other words, many who experience fruitfulness in life sometimes do just because of the favour of God. Some who succeed where others have failed sometimes do so because of the blessing of God on what they do. Many labour than others, with more talents, gifts, experience, connections, education and training but achieved less than others. Why? The favour or the blessings of God could be in operation in their lives. Therefore, my friend ask for the blessing of God or His favour on the works of your hands, you too shall testify to the goodness of God.
Finally, to be saved from fruitless efforts, we all need faith and patience. “That you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
Heb. 6:12. Bamboo tree may be planted at the same time as thorn bushes, but bamboo may take a longer time to grow than the thorn bushes. The bamboo tree, first of all, grows its root downwards before it grows upward. But the thorn bushes will just grow quickly as soon as it’s planted. But when the storm comes, then thorn bushes are destroyed while the bamboo tree is still standing. My friend, don’t conclude yet that your efforts are fruitless efforts if you are in the will of God, doing what God asks you to do and in the way He’s expecting you to do it. What you need is patience, your efforts shall be rewarded in due course, don’t give up, don’t give in, don’t quit. Remember winners never quit and quitters never win. Hang on, your efforts shall show forth the blessing and the glory of God if you quit not. Trust God for increase, believe in Him, be patient. Many successful people you see around today have a lot of story to tell, people only see their glory without knowing their story. No star without a scar. No crown without a cross. “For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: “For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” Heb. 10:36-38. My friend, I can see you entering into the season of your net breaking harvest, as Peter called his colleagues to join him when his season of bountiful harvest came, I can see your well-wishers rejoicing and celebrating with you. I can see your unbelievable and net breaking harvest silencing all your critics and the people that have written you off. My friend, hang on, your breakthrough season is here in Jesus name. Amen. Remain blessed!
Jesus is Lord!
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