Jesus later appeared to his disciples along the shore of Lake Tiberias. Simon Peter, Thomas the Twin, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, and the brothers James and John, were there, together with two other disciples.
Simon Peter said, “I'm going fishing!”
The others said, “We will go with you.” They went out in their boat. But they didn't catch a thing that night.
Early the next morning Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize who he was. Jesus shouted, “Friends, have you caught anything?”
“No!” they answered.
So he told them, “Let your net down on the right side of your boat, and you will catch some fish.”
They did, and the net was so full of fish that they could not drag it up into the boat.
Jesus' favorite disciple told Peter, “It's the Lord!” When Simon heard it was the Lord, he put on the clothes he had taken off while he was working. Then he jumped into the water. The boat was only about 100 meters from shore. So the other disciples stayed in the boat and dragged in the net full of fish.
When the disciples got out of the boat, they saw some bread and a charcoal fire with fish on it. Jesus told his disciples, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” Simon Peter got back into the boat and dragged the net to shore. In it were 153 large fish, but still the net did not rip.
Jesus said, “Come and eat!” But none of the disciples dared ask who he was. They knew he was the Lord. Jesus took the bread in his hands and gave some of it to his disciples. He did the same with the fish. This was the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from death.
John 21:1-14
What would they do now? The disciples had such great hope for Jesus and for their roles in supporting Him in this great work that Jesus was doing. Jesus gathered large crowds and worked miracles. He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind and even raised the dead. Then almost without any warning everything went wrong that night after they ate the Passover meal and Jesus Himself was dead.
Now they were really confused. Jesus was not in the grave and they had seen Him twice before this morning meeting by the lake. But their encounters with the risen Lord were brief. He would come and go quickly. What were they to do with their lives now?
Peter may have been expressing his frustration when he said "I'm going fishing." He briefly went back to the old life before Jesus called him to be His disciple. But Peter had lost his touch for fishing. They fished all night and caught nothing until Jesus appeared on the shore and told them where to fish!
Have you become confused in your walk with Jesus? Everything seemed to be going well and then almost without any warning it all changed. Your plans are not working out and the way you thought you were being led has come to a dead end. You are tempted to go back to the life you had before you met Jesus and began this journey with Him.
Remember Peter and the rest of the disciples. On the morning of that last Passover meal with Jesus, if you had asked Peter what the rest of his life would be like, he would never have imagined the way Jesus would lead him over the years that remained. The same is true with us. There is no way you can know what lies ahead in your life, but you can know Jesus and He will be there with you every step of the way. That is all you need. Amen!
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