I Go Fishing

…I go a fishing (by Tim Klink of Prison Discipleship Ministry)

John 21:3

“Simon Peter saith unto them, ‘I go a fishing.’ They say unto him, ‘We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.’”

One cannot imagine the confusion, the heartache, and the disappointment that the disciples of Jesus felt on the day following the crucifixion. Everything they had hoped for was now gone. Instead of delivering Israel from Roman bondage, Jesus was dead. What they invested the last few years of their life in was gone. Jesus taught them many great things, but now He was gone. The only thing to do was to return to what they had known before they met Jesus.

Peter said, “I go a fishing,” and the rest followed. They were fishermen by trade, and they knew how to catch fish. But, God withheld His blessing, and that night they caught nothing because Jesus was waiting on them with a greater blessing than they were seeking.

John 21:6

“And he said unto them, ‘Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.’”

Jesus knew all along where the fish were, and it was His great love for those who had given up to bless them. Jesus didn’t need their fish because He already had breakfast waiting before they got to shore. It was in their sadness and confusion that Jesus showed them that He was with them, knew what they were feeling, blessed their effort, and then drew them to Himself in a way that gave them the hope and confidence to turn the world upside down for Jesus.

Our times of sadness and confusion are times when Jesus wants us to know that He has not left us, but is preparing a greater blessing than we can imagine if we simply trust Him, because Jesus knows “where the fish are.”

We will go through times of testing, times of sadness, times of confusion, and times when we cannot see a reason to keep serving God, but those are the times when Jesus is still standing on the shore, ready to show us His blessing if we will just go to Him.