John, chapter 21

We come to the end of the book of John today. With that, we also come to the end of our study of the gospels. As always, Jesus sends us away with a message of great hope. In this chapter, we see Jesus give us a lesson in what we are supposed to do with our lives. He also re-establishes Peter as the head of His very young church. Over the span of a few days, the disciples go from despair to triumph because if the Resurrection.

4Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?"
"No," they answered.
6He 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

Even when the situation looks hopeless we still must look to see what good God can bring from the situation. In this case, the disciples had been fishing all night, yet they hadn’t caught anything. Here, Jesus advises just a slight change of tactics and it pays off. A negative situation becomes an overwhelming positive. It is also foreshadowing what the disciples will do for mankind. From this point forward, they would go out and spread the word of Christ around the globe. They would reap a great catch, and that is still going on today.

I am currently trying to relate this lesson to my own life. For the next two weeks, I am going to be in a place work-wise that I seriously do not want to be. The job is undesirable. The hours are even worse, yet I know that God has placed me here for a reason. The last three mornings (including this morning) as I have prepared to go to my three days of training for this job, I have had a very negative mindset. I admit that I must take a different look at things and see what good I can do in this capacity. Right now, I am dreading every hours and just wishing it is over. With a slight change of attitude, however, I know God can accomplish something wonderful even in a place where I don’t want to be.