Fishing Alone
It's frustrating. Fishing all night and catching NOTHING? And it's not like these disciples didn't know what they were doing. They knew the art of fishing well. But that night, skill was not enough. What they needed was Jesus. They needed Jesus to speak. And as soon as Jesus spoke, there was an abundance! Those men saw the difference that day between striving in their own strength and flowing in God's.
Some of us labor hard, but we don't labor with God. We think if we just work a little harder, we'll prosper. But the Kingdom of God is not about striving in our own strength apart from God. No, no, no. If we do, we find ourselves like these men who fished all night with nothing to show for it.
But don't worry. Jesus is more than happy to show us 'where the fish are'. He WANTS us to prosper -- just not without HIM! If you feel like you are spinning your wheels or simply STUCK, consider if you are 'fishing' with Jesus or without Him.
Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”
"We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.
At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?”
"No,” they replied.
Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.
Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore. When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.
"Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.
John 21:1-11 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jhn.21.1-11.nlt
Some of us labor hard, but we don't labor with God. We think if we just work a little harder, we'll prosper. But the Kingdom of God is not about striving in our own strength apart from God. No, no, no. If we do, we find ourselves like these men who fished all night with nothing to show for it.
But don't worry. Jesus is more than happy to show us 'where the fish are'. He WANTS us to prosper -- just not without HIM! If you feel like you are spinning your wheels or simply STUCK, consider if you are 'fishing' with Jesus or without Him.
***
Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”
"We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.
At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?”
"No,” they replied.
Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.
Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore. When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.
"Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.
John 21:1-11 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jhn.21.1-11.nlt
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