Going Beyond What You Have Yet Imagined
Right now, many of us are sensing God calling us beyond—beyond barriers, past what's been, and into something greater than we've yet imagined (Ephesians 3:20). It's the pull of the Holy Spirit. If this stirs you, receive faith for the "more" God has for you, for this is a season of great harvest.
"Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!" (John 4:35 NKJV)
Yet, for some of you, this invitation comes while you're standing beside what feels like empty nets. Like the fishermen in Luke 5, you may have worked hard and done your best in a particular area. You've been faithful, and still the nets look bare.
Seeing Beyond the Empty Nets
Recently, I preached from this story in Luke:
"One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. He noticed two empty boats at the water's edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets." (Luke 5:1–2 NLT)
And I posed the question,"If we were walking by that scene, what would we see?"
Fishermen, cleaning nets... no evidence of a catch. If we were extra perceptive, we might notice the weariness, dejection, and frustration. But what did Jesus see? He saw all of that, but He saw beyond it. Full nets, disciples, future apostles, and a boat for a pulpit. Jesus saw that His Father was bringing a miracle supply. He understood that the empty nets were a setup.
3 Keys to Stepping Into God's Appointed Harvest
1. See beyond to what the Father is doing.
What would it look like to see your own "empty nets" as Jesus sees them?
Jesus said, "The Son can do nothing by Himself... He does only what He sees the Father doing" (John 5:19 NLT).
This shows us that discernment is more than being observant. It's more than seeing behind face value, and more, even, than perceiving the source. True discernment is only possible as we see the Kingdom context. (Photo via Unsplash)
It is to look beyond and see what Jesus sees—that which the Father is doing, at the time He is doing it, and to discern what is on God's agenda. This is a powerful Kingdom principle. It changes how we see!
2. Step beyond our limitation into abundance.
A month later, I wasn't thinking about that message at all. But on November 23, 2025, during the worship service at our church, I had a vision. I saw Jesus a short distance ahead of me, to the right on a path. He was beckoning me to follow Him.
Instinctively, I looked down and was surprised to see I was standing in fishing nets. I stepped out of them easily, but I realized they could have tripped me up.
I ran to catch up, and then Jesus took me aside to a viewing platform overlooking the water. It was a river filled with a multitude of fish. The waters seemed to be boiling with life.
There are new definitions for a new season. The writer of Hebrews urges us, "Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us" (Hebrew 12:1 NLT).
Sometimes the "net" that trips could be an outdated vision, a strategy that once worked but no longer serves us, or definitions that were fruitful in the past, but the Holy Spirit has moved on. It's a reminder that the old ways won't carry us into a new season.
God says, "I want to give you a fresh vision for this season. Don't settle for less than all I have for you."
3. Partnering and serving God beyond.
Sometimes we experience empty-net syndrome: we are weary, tired, discouraged, and even disillusioned. We're ashore, cleaning nets that haven't brought in a catch. Even good news feels unrealistic.
Yet here Jesus meets us. For some, Jesus is calling us aside first to be with Him, to listen, and to let Him show us what He is doing in this season.
Then He calls us beyond, to join Him and to take part in what He is doing now. And we can trust Him, because He is faithful. (Photo via Pikist)
I love to say, "Obedience is simply joining the Father in what He is doing now." This kind of obedience is not duty, but delight. It is participation. We are partnering with God in our relationship with Him. And here is the tipping point: The "more" lies on the other side of obedience. Faith stirs us to move. And when we do, we step into His appointed harvest.
God has set a time frame, and that time is now to step beyond our restrictions and to step into His promise.
The River Leads to Full Nets
This vision drew me back to the river of life in Ezekiel 47.
"There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes." (Ezekiel 47:9 NKJV)
"Everything will live wherever the river goes."
But what astonished me was Ezekiel 47:10: "Fishermen will stand by it... Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea, exceedingly many" (NKJV).
This is extraordinary: the river of life leads to full nets. It is the move of the Holy Spirit. Amid nets stretched to breaking, Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid! From now on you'll be fishing for people!" (Luke 5:10 NLT). From the empty nets of Luke 5 to the boiling waters of fish in my encounter with Jesus, and to the multitude of fish along Ezekiel's riverbanks, I realized God is showing us something.
Many are sensing a tipping point, and the Holy Spirit is breathing a fresh invitation: "Come beyond. There is more."
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Helen Calder
Enliven Ministries
Email:Â helen@enlivenpublishing.com
Website:Â www.enlivenpublishing.com
Helen Calder is a prophetic minister and writer, and founder of Enliven Ministries, in the David McCracken Ministries family. Helen has a unique gift of equipping in the areas of prophetic ministry, discernment and prayer. She is known for Enliven Blog, an online prophetic training and mentoring resource that reaches thousands of people globally. Helen and Malcolm have been married for thirty-seven years and are at home in Planetshakers Church, Melbourne, Australia.
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