He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
What is going on here? Jesus, unrecognized by his disciples, calls out from the shore. He asks if they have any fish.” “No,” they holler back.
Putting this in context, if one sport fisherman says to another, “Caught anything yet,” the answer is usually a friendly yes or no. The kind of fishing that the disciples were doing was not sport. It was hard work. During the night when the fish were closer to the surface, they would cast a net out into the water. Then they would pull it back hoping to trap a few fish. It is dark and dangerous work. Pulling nets out of the water whether empty or full is hard work. Doing it all night long is very hard work.
They would usually catch something. Catching a few fish would not be enough to make a living but catching none was a complete waste of time. At least a few catches would keep them hoping for more.
When the voice of the man on the shore came over the water they were tired and worn out. Very likely they were discouraged, too. All that work and nothing to show for it. The man says, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat…” Who says that? Why the right side? What??
Why did the men obey the voice? Did Peter, as tired and discouraged as he was, sense a glimmer of deja vu? Did he feel the subconscious tug of an earlier memory? A time when a teacher had borrowed his boat to preach from and then commanded him to let down his nets? (Luke 5)
Whatever the reason, they did as the voice instructed. They cast a net on the right side of the boat. Instead of running from the shadow of the men and their net, the fish seemed to swim into the net. Not just any fish, but large fish. More fish than they could physically pull into the boat.
Application: As desolate and discouraging as the night of useless fishing was, the blessing of Jesus was exciting, rewarding and abundant. God’s blessings far exceed any suffering we might endure. His generosity overshadows any want we might have. Faith is continuing to believe during the night of our trials trusting in God’s generosity at the end of the day.
Food for Thought: What form does God’s generosity take in your life?
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God gave them so many fish that they couldn’t pull them in the boat. God doesn’t give us more than we can handle…until He wants to teach us something.
Happy Tuesday
God’s generosity can be seen everywhere in my life. Unfortunately, my acknowledgment of His generosity is not. This Thanksgiving week I hope to begin to close that gap.
Thank you both for sharing your thoughts today! Our God’s abundant generosity is evident everywhere, but it is not always seen. When I focus on myself and my infinite potential for wants, I can never be satisfied. When I focus on where I have been, what I have done, and what I need, I see that I have been given more than I deserve and what God has blessed me with is abundantly good.
Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow. Ephesians 3:20, 21.
“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” (KJV)
Nice reference, JEC. Thank you!
“Faith is continuing to believe during the night of our trials trusting in God’s generosity at the end of the day. ” I really appreciated this.
NMOP3PISdn,
Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Those words are rooted in personal experience. Our God is extremely faithful.