Peter and several others went fishing one night and by morning they had caught nothing. Their persistence is amazing because I don’t know if I would keep fishing all night long without catching anything, yet they did. The next morning, Jesus was standing on the shore and asked them what they had caught. When they replied that they had caught nothing, Jesus told them to cast their nets on the right side of the ship and promised that they would find fish. When they cast their nets this time, there were so many fish that they were not able to draw the net in for the multitude of fish.
What changed in this situation? Could it be that moving over the few feet to the other side of the ship is what really made the difference between catching fish and not catching fish? Is it possible that the ship had not moved at all through the night and that they were just precisely on the line between where the fish were and where they were not? Could it be that all of the fish had been asleep right up until this point, but they awoke right at the time the net was thrown the last time? Could it be that they needed to realize that the power to catch fish was not in themselves, but through God?
You will never catch fish if you are not fishing. Why do you think they were willing to fish all night long without catching anything? They never lost hope. With each cast of the net they had hope that they would pull in fish. Sometimes we become discouraged when we cast our net and it doesn’t come back full of fish. Sometimes this discouragement leads us to stop fishing. Yet we won’t catch fish if we are not fishing.
Sometimes we are not catching fish because we are not ready to catch fish. Sometimes we need to grow before we will be ready to catch fish. Personal, spiritual growth will come from the fishing process even when we are not catching fish. Sometimes we need to learn patience and grow in our patience. However, we will not catch fish until we are truly ready to catch fish.
Sometimes we are not catching fish because so that we will realize that it is not in ourselves that the fish are caught. When we fish, we can be in the right place with the right equipment, and if the fish choose not to bite we will not catch fish. On the other hand, when the fish are ready to be caught they will be caught...as long as we are still fishing.
Persistence. Constant effort. Constant growth. Constantly trusting in Jesus to provide is necessary if we are going to catch fish. Then, when we do catch fish we must in humility realize that we just threw the net. God provided the fish. Keep casting your net until God provides the fish!
John 21:1-7, "After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. [2] Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. [3] Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.[4] Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. [5] Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” [6] He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish."
