Jesus Stood on the Shore
Today’s Verse:
But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. ~John 21:4
For a fisherman who has been on the seas and is heading back home, it is a wonderful sight to see the shore and land. Seven backslidden disciples, led by Peter, had spent a failed night of fishing. As the light of morning was upon them, Jesus stood on the shore, waiting to receive them. They did not know at first that it was Jesus. When they finally realized that it was Him, there was revitalization in their hearts and spirit. Let us see Jesus standing on the shore.
We see the discouraged followers.
Discouragement is when we lose hope and confidence and when we are dispirited. There were the shattered dreams. The disciples thought that Jesus would bring in a new kingdom that would unseat the Roman oppression that they lived under. When He died on the cross and was buried in the tomb, all their dreams were shattered. They did not listen to the many times when He told them the purpose of coming to earth. When our dreams do not line up with God’s vision for our lives, we will always have shattered dreams. There was the shameful drift. The disciples went into hiding on the night that Jesus was crucified. When He appeared to them on the evening of His resurrection and, again, a week later, they were glad but ashamed. They had not come to Him in acknowledgement of their failures, but they chose instead to languish in their failed past. We must be careful that we do not allow our failures to result in prideful refusal to confess that we have been wrong.
We see the deplorable failure.
“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.” Peter announced that he was going back to fishing. This was not recreational fishing, but back to commercial fishing for a profit. He was not the only one thinking that: six other disciples were thinking of the same thing. Their failure went from bad to worse. That night of fishing was the worst that they had ever had. They caught nothing. For a fisherman to catch nothing was a major failure for his pocketbook and for the public market that depended on him to bring fish to sell. Failure is the only way we can see what we really are. Failure causes us to realize we are not as smart, talented, connected, and strong as we think we are. God uses failure to humble us. He uses failure to make us be honest about ourselves. He uses failure to drive us to complete dependence upon Him. Is there a failure in your life that God is using to get your attention?
We see the dependable faithfulness.
Despite a failed night of fishing, Jesus stood on the shore, waiting for them. Jesus standing on the shore is the joy that comes to us in the morning after we have had an evening of sorrow and weeping. Jesus’ faithfulness gives us hope. Jesus’ faithfulness gives us forgiveness and mercy. Jesus’ faithfulness seeks to restore us in fellowship, fruitfulness, and fervency. There is comfort in His faithfulness. All of them men, but especially Peter, were comforted that the Lord was on the shore to receive them. There is counsel in His faithfulness. He told them where to drop their net, and immediately, they had a very large catch. There was communion in His faithfulness. He had breakfast cooking on a fire as they came to shore. It spoke to the men about the blessing of fellowship with Jesus. Our Lord is faithful to us in spite of our failures. Can you see Him standing on the shore? He waits for us to come to Him in honesty and humility. Don’t trust in yourself when things are bad: trust in our Lord and come to Him as He waits for you on the shore.
Have a pleasant God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: 1 Chronicles 25-27