“When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.”

We’ve all faced setbacks in ministry. But it’s what happens next that’s truly important.

Just ask Simon Peter and Andrew about the setback they had in Luke 5.

The Bible tells us that the two brothers had been out all night fishing. As professional fishermen, if they didn’t catch fish, they didn’t make money.

And in Luke 5, they’d caught nothing. Relating it to ministry, it’s like they spent months planning a new outreach effort and reached no one. As you can guess, the brothers were discouraged and tired.

But then Jesus comes along and does the impossible.

After borrowing their boat to teach, Jesus tells Simon Peter: “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4 NIV).

Simon Peter’s response shows frustration has set in: “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything” (Luke 5:5 NIV).

We’ve all hit this stage. We’ve given our ministry our best shot and come up empty. We’ve done everything right and believe God led us to do what we’re doing, but we have nothing to show for it.

Then Jesus does a miracle. Jesus doesn’t just meet these guys’ needs, but totally blows them away in the process.

The Bible says, “When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break” (Luke 5:6 NIV).

Not only do they catch enough fish for themselves, but God also gives them enough to share.

After Simon Peter and Andrew do what Jesus tells them to do, they catch more fish in 10 minutes than they had in the previous 10 hours. God turns a setback into a comeback.

Your comeback may be just around the corner, too.

Whatever your ministry setback was, God can turn the faucet on quicker than it was turned off.

And then, you might even need a bigger boat.