Scripture:
“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.” John 21: 1-7 (NLT)
Perspective:
Peter was done in every sense of the word. Jesus was gone, so he had no place to go. He needed to go to the place that felt familiar because his whole world for the last three years had suddenly changed. He needed to fish. Peter was going to go back to the place where it all started. Peter couldn’t change the fact that he had denied he knew Jesus three times. He couldn’t erase the heartache, disappointment, or memories, but he could fish. It was the work he knew best. He was fishing when Jesus first found him. It didn’t matter that he went back to the thing he had given up to follow Jesus. When Jesus arrived on the shore, he knew that Peter was exhausted and frustrated from a night of catching zero fish. It seemed like defeat was inevitable, proving that Peter’s angst couldn’t be solved out at sea. But, Jesus said the word and fish began to swell by the boat. Jesus found Peter again when he was fishing, and Peter found Jesus again standing on the shore of his crashed hopes and dreams.
Have you ever been in a situation where it left you disappointed? Maybe you thought God was directing you one way only to have door after door closed. You may not be able to understand why God would allow you to face those challenges. In those moments, it can be tempting to throw in the towel and go back to what is familiar. There is comfort in familiar environments that take us away from our immediate disappointment. We want to feel like we can win at something. Maybe you have gone back to your own sea like Peter. If you have, know that Jesus is standing there with you. He didn’t leave you on the shore of your disappointment alone. He standing and waiting for you to come.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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About Hona Amer
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