Today’s Reading: John 21:1-14
John tells one more story — the story of the morning Jesus made breakfast on the beach for some of his closest friends. On this day no one questioned who He was or what He was doing; they simply rested in the knowledge that he was the Lord and that he was alive. They had no idea what this next chapter of their lives would look like, but they were willing to do whatever Jesus wanted them to do.
WHAT SHOULD I DO NEXT?
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 the 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. – John 21:1-3
I imagine the disciples did not know what to do with themselves. Jesus had already appeared to them twice since His resurrection but He was not with them at the time. I imagine they were kind of sitting around in silence, unsure of what to do next. Perhaps out of the awkward silence, Simon Peter stood up and declared, “I’m going fishing.” It was what they knew, what they had done before they followed Jesus, and what they returned to for comfort when they were unsure of what life held for them next. It must have sounded like a good idea to the whole group because they quickly joined in and followed Peter to the boat.
BUT SOMETIMES OUR NORMAL FEELS UNFAMILIAR.
Something was different this time. The men who knew fishing because they were fishermen were unable to catch any fish. What was going on? Why were the fish not biting on this beautiful early morning? The life that had previously been marked with familiarity and comfort now brought no results, because it was no longer their life.
At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. He called out, “Fellows, 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.
“Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. This was the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead. – John 21:4-14
I connect with this story because I love my morning time with Jesus. He does not make me a delicious breakfast of fish and bread, but He does feed me. He faithfully shows up in my life when I am wondering what is next. I ask myself — What does my day hold and what does God want me to do today? And when circumstances in my life are leaving me uncomfortable and I miss the familiarity of what I know, I do what I know to do — I trust in my Jesus to nourish and provide for me.
JESUS CAN HAVE MY “NEXT” BECAUSE I TRUST HIM.
Is there a situation or decision in your life that you need to bring to breakfast and give to the Lord this morning? Allow Him to fill you with His Spirit and rest in His presence before you start your day.