Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat. When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered and said, Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.” When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break; so, they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.” When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him. Luke 5:1-11

In today’s passage, Peter’s initial interaction with Christ seems unimportant. We assume Jesus asked Peter for the use of his boat, which meant that the weary fisherman put aside his cleanup duties in order to steer the craft for an itinerant preacher. It was a small decision, but Peter ended up with a front-row seat for a miraculous display of Jesus’ power that day.

Then, Peter obeyed Jesus’ second request —to let down the nets for a catch—even though doing so contradicted his expertise in fishing. The results were incredible: a catch so great that a second boat had to come and take part of the haul.

Though Peter probably considered both of these decisions fairly insignificant, Jesus found them telling. He was preparing the disciple and teaching him to follow. It’s often obedience in the small details that prepares the believer for obedience in all things. What Peter did with regard to the boat and net eventually convinced him that giving up everything to follow Christ was the wisest choice.

This is how God teaches us to follow His will, too. Our decisions can set us on a course to fulfill God’s good purpose for our life and His kingdom—if we choose to heed His voice.