1) Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way. 2) Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 4) I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with, " So they went out and got into the boat, but that night caught nothing. 4) Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5) He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish? No," They answered. 6) 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. John 21:4-6 NIV
Early in one morning God began to speak to my spirit about perspectives. Have you ever worked extremely hard on something only to find that your efforts proved to be futile at best? Have you ever been so sure of your skill, expertise, and/or ability to produce results at something only to find yourself running in a circle? No matter how hard you tried your endeavors only yielded disappointment and frustration.
Simon Peter was a skilled fisherman. Yet, he tolled all night and did not even catch one fish. He did this after Jesus had been resurrected and appeared on the shore of Galilee to show Himself resurrected to His disciples. Jesus instructed the disciples to cast their net to the other side of the boat. When they obeyed his direction, they caught an abundance of fish; more than they could carry. In essence, Jesus instructed the disciples to change perspectives in order to be blessed with breakthrough and abundance.
As I studied this scripture, I learned that we can not expect to gain spiritual depth if we only expend our efforts to labor in the flesh. To produce good fruit, we must cast our net.... our thinking...our way... our efforts in God's Way. Indeed, if we desire to produce a good harvest, we must first realize that what we currently doing is not productive. We must ask ourselves, "Do we have any fish?" We must take the time to be honest with ourselves. We must ask, "Is what I'm doing working? Am I producing fruit?" If we have been operating on the wrong side of the boat, it is time to switch to the other side; for the side we have cast our net in will never yield the fish that we seek.
7) Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord." As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. John 7: 7 NIV
Have you ever used your skill and expertise at something only to find yourself unfulfilled and dissatisfied with the results? Peter had tolled all night to catch fish. His expertise was not enough to catch fish. He was stuck in a cycle all night long and it did not dawn on him until the next morning when Jesus provided revelation for him to cast his net to the other side of the boat to see the change he needed. When he realized that it was Jesus that spoke to him, he girded himself with his garment (for he had taken it off) and then jumped into the water. Have you ever found yourself naked in your labor? Have you been ashamed in your labor.... knowing that you are expending your best efforts only to find it is not enough? Why did Peter jump out of the boat? He had been naked toiling in the thing he was skilled to do; but he was not productive in it. Jesus had told Peter before that He would make him a fisher of men if he followed Him. But Peter was found naked in his labors. Peter had not been clothed in the anointing of God as he was trying to fish. God had to interrupt Peter's labor to instruct him how to labor with the revelation of how to gain fish in abundance.
In our spiritual walk with God, let us go deeper than a surface level relationship. That required moving beyond the Logos (written) Word to the Rhema ( Living) and active Word of God. Its time as believers of God to cast our nets deeper into His Word. Its time to delve deeper into the Spirit of God and thirst for deeper depths of His Righteousness. Let us go to deeper depths of maturity in God's Word. We must activate the anointing of God through obedience to His Word; for it was Christ the risen Messiah who instructed Peter in how to flow in his gift to acquire an abundance of fish.
8) The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 9) When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. 10) Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught." 11) So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153 but even with so many the net was not torn. John 7:8-11 NIV
Jesus Christ is standing on the shores of our faith calling to us. We toll fruitlessly and unnecessarily harder when we do not follow the direction of God in our lives. Its time to cast our net to the other side of the boat. It is time to walk in the revelation that God manifests to us. May our labors then produce good fruit in abundance.
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