This section of Scripture is full of so many incredible things that we could, and probably should, talk about. But the thing that stood out to me the most is the way that Jesus wants us to acknowledge our need for God before fixing the problem. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start at the beginning.
John 21:1–14 (ESV):
1 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.
7 That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.
8 The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.
9 When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.”
11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn.
12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.
13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish.
14 This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
In verse 3 we see Peter state that he’s going to go fishing. As I was doing my research, it’s interesting to note that after Jesus died, Peter went back to being a fisherman. The commentaries I dug into suggested that due to the lack of Jesus’s physical presence, they felt lost and didn’t know what to do next. This is ironic considering what Jesus said and did just one chapter prior:
John 20:21–22 (ESV):
21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus sent them out and gave them the Holy Spirit. They were literally told to go out and were given everything they needed. “As the Father sent me” tells them that what was His job was now theirs. They needed to go out and spread the word of God. Their job was to share the Gospel of Salvation and share everything that He had done. They were to follow what God told them to do.
And instead, they went back to what they knew. It was easy to show up and do what they were called to do when they could feel His presence, but once He was gone, they lost their zeal.
Do you relate?
The number of times that God explicitly called me to do something and I was on board… until it got hard. Until I didn’t feel Him RIGHT next to me. Until it got to be too much. Then I decided ‘nah I’m out.’
This is where faith comes in. This is where we have to decide if we’re really in like we said we were or if you’re only lukewarm and all in when it’s convenient for you.
But as we see, Jesus didn’t rebuke them or call them out for it. Instead He wanted to commune with them, spend time with them. We’ll get to that in a moment.
Peter and the disciples with him went out fishing at night. They usually fished at night because then the fish could be sold fresh the following morning. After being out on the water to fish all night, they caught nothing. Zilch. Nada.
Jesus was always There
That’s when daybreak came and Jesus was watching them from the shore.
This is something important to remember: He was there at daybreak. Jesus didn’t just show up on their boat in the middle of the night. He didn’t make sure they had fish all night long nor did he call out to them at any other time. He waited until there was just enough light that He was visible but they didn’t recognize Him.
Even though Jesus wasn’t there with them all night physically doesn’t mean He wasn’t keeping a watchful eye on them. In His sovereignty He knows all.
But He didn’t show up until daybreak. He waited for the night to end before He revealed Himself.
Our lives are no different. We can go through seasons of what feels like days, months, YEARS of darkness. Then we wonder if Jesus is ever going to show up for us, we begin to doubt the relationship. We call out God wondering where He is because it feels like He’s just not answering. We begin to wonder if He’s turned His back on us. Did we do something wrong? Are we being punished?
Handling God’s No
At church this morning my pastor did a sermon on God’s ‘no’ when we pray and ask Him questions. His point was that God never really said no, but He just has a better yes for us down the line. He shuts the doors that are wrong for us to guide us to the window that is perfect for us. It feels like we were rejected, like He said no, but really what He said was that He has a better yes for us down the line.
When it feels like we’re in this dark season all alone, we have to remember that even when we can’t see or feel Him, Jesus is right there. There’s something to learn in the season that we’re in.
For the disciples out on the water, they needed to see their empty net and acknowledge their need.
When Jesus finally did call out, He asked if they had caught any fish. Of course they answered no (as He knew they would).
If He already knew the answer was no, why did He ask?
Because before He stepped in, Jesus wanted them to acknowledge what they were lacking. He wanted them to acknowledge their need. The beautiful and sometimes frustrating thing about God is that He’s never going to force you to do something. He gave us the gift of free will and we get to use that free will however we see fit. Before we can truly embrace everything that God is, we have to acknowledge that we need Him. We have to go through experiences that highlight exactly what it is that we are lacking in order for us to see that we need Him.
We’ll never be able to turn to God and say we did something because He made us. We can’t say that we loved Him because He made us. Instead it’s a choice we make, the way that God wants it to be. Even when He would be totally in the right, Jesus never butted in where He wasn’t welcome. He instead taught and softened hearts before saying what really needed to be said.
That’s what Jesus wants from you today. He wants you to acknowledge your lack so you can admit your need.
It’s not easy
If you’re anything like me, you’ve been begging God to show up in your life but you haven’t truly admitted your need or even acknowledged your lack. I spent years hating God for not stepping in but I was a total control freak that didn’t want to let go of anything. God wasn’t going to force me to let it go, He was waiting for me to release it.
Free will is a gift, yes, but it can also feel like a curse. It would be so much easier if God did just force us to do something but if He did, we would miss out on the beauty of all that He is. Instead of being happy, loving children we would be robots doing what we were told to do. That’s it. That’s not love.
We see so many stories in history of creators making things from puppets to statues and wanting those things to love the creator back. Every time it ends badly. Why? Because the creation doesn’t truly love if it’s forced to and the creator ends up frustrated with the creation if they don’t do exactly what was asked, which also isn’t love.
This is why it’s hard.
This is also why we struggle to understand God. He is a loving Father who never loses patience with us. He stands outside of time, seeing everything at once while also being right next to us in this specific moment. We can’t understand how a being like that could ever love creatures like us. I won’t pretend to understand it but I can say that the more I align myself with what God wants for my life it becomes easier and easier to accept.
There’s so much more that can be pulled from this powerful Scripture. But I believe that right now, God wants you to know that He sees you and He loves you. He won’t force your hand because He knows that you’re capable of making the choice. He’ll step in and do the rest, but you have to make the choice.
God wants to do incredible things in your life, you just have to let Him.
You don’t have to hide your need from God, He already sees it.
My Free Prayer Journal helps you come to Him honestly, reflect through Scripture, and create space for His strength to meet your surrender.
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