Once upon a time, a man named Peter who was a professional fisherman in his time, went fishing at night. With all his knowledge and experience in the fishing industry, he toiled all night and still caught nothing. When he encountered Jesus, He gave him a word that produced a great result in his life. Some people might argue that Peter didn’t do anything different or special. He simply let down his net one more time. That doesn’t matter. What matters is that a word came from the Source of all things. The meaning of that is:
- We must acknowledge and recognize times and seasons in our lives. If not, we’ll keep expanding maximum efforts and getting minimal results.
- God is always ready to give us a direction shift. We must be willing to shift, even if we’re uncomfortable or afraid of what it entails.
- Our skills, knowledge, and experience are so important, and can never be disputed. Nevertheless, light from above makes a whole lot of difference in whatever situation we find ourselves, or in our lives generally.
Fish from the Right Side
Fast forward to the next three years or so, Peter found himself having the same experience where he went a-fishing, toiled all night and caught nothing. The Master had been crucified, and even though He had resurrected, Peter and other disciples probably felt that things were not going to be the same. Out of despair or despondency, he decided to get himself busy with something. Being a person of influence, his colleagues joined him. Sometimes we find ourselves in a situation such as this. How we pictured everything in our minds to play out turned out nearly the opposite. We become hopeless and tired. Yet, we keep toiling. And just like Peter, we end up getting nothing.
Hear what Jesus said to them “Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find”. Again, the great catch happened. Brethren, it is possible to be fishing from the wrong side of the ship of our lives and not know. How do you know you’re fishing from the wrong side?
- When you are always leading yourself, and not letting God. Sometimes we think we know it all or we’ve got it all figured out. We need to come to the end of ourselves, so that God can start.
- When you leave your assignment or gift to pursue or concentrate on another. Think about it. Are you walking on someone else’s path? The funny part is that things might be going smoothly for a while or you might be seeing some results, but it’s only a matter of time for things to be begin to decline.
- When you are not even in a relationship with your Maker. Jesus is the Captain that should not be missing in any ship. If you’re not in tune with Him or have backslidden, you’re totally on the wrong side of life. This is a good time to talk to Him and He’ll restore you. There’s a void in every man’s heart, whether you’re high class, middle class, or lower class. Only God can fill it up. Come to Him today.
Scriptures: Luke 5:4, John 21:6.