Come and Dine
Today’s Verse:
Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. ~John 21:12
It is a blessing and privilege when someone invites you to their home for a meal, or to a banquet celebration. The hosts go to great effort and expense in making this meal event something special and enjoyable. In our Western tradition of making invitations, the invited guest is asked to respond with an RSVP. This helps the host to know how many to expect and feed. In our devotion this morning, we see an invitation our Lord makes where no RSVP is required. All who are invited are beckoned to come.
We see the exhaustion.
“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.” Several of the disciples, led by Peter, backslid and went back to fishing. They resorted to their old ways. They spent an entire evening fishing on the Sea of Galilee and caught nothing. When our fellowship with the Lord is broken because of sin or busyness on our part, everything we do results in emptiness and exhaustion. As the day started to dawn, these men were spent, tired, and frustrated. If we do not commit to daily fellowship with our Lord, it is not long until we wind up like these men did.
We see the extraordinary.
“Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. 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 called out to them regarding their night’s effort. With a discouraged response, they told Him they caught nothing. Jesus gave them counsel on where to cast their net. They obeyed his order and to their amazement, they had a substantial catch. This catch reminded them of a similar catch they had almost three years before when Jesus had started His ministry. They knew that something extraordinary happened. They knew this catch came from Jesus! Even more extraordinary was the fact that Peter drew the net to shore and there were 153 fishes in his net. In our most exhausted and worn-out state, we must be on the lookout for something special the Lord does for us to rejuvenate and revive us.
We see the exhortation.
“Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.” It was in this special moment that the Lord invited these men to a meal He prepared for them on the beach. What these men needed more than a large catch of the day was to enter back into the presence of our Lord. Fellowship with our Lord is a vital necessity if we want strength for our day, direction for our steps, encouragement for our soul, and power for our service. Come and dine! Our time with God is our most important appointment of the day. It is our time for getting His sweetness and love to saturate our souls. We must come to the table He has prepared for us and eat of the sumptuous provision He prepares.
We see the experience.
All of the men knew it was the Lord. As they took of the fish and the bread He served them, they remembered how sweet fellowship with Jesus is. That emptiness started to fill up, and the weariness was replaced with strength and energy. If you have been finding your time with the Lord to be lacking, hear His call to “come and dine” and experience His goodness and greatness in a fresh and powerful way.
Have a satisfying God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Deuteronomy 28-29