The other side

I was watching an online prayer meeting this morning, and a pastor friend shared the verse above. At some point, read this entire passage. It's one that I honestly skimmed over when I was younger and remember it simply as just "Breakfast with Jesus". I can see the coloring sheet now...but there is so much meat and umph to this chapter. I truly believe God brings back verses at just the right time. He knows when our Spirit needs that push, but more than that He knows when we are ready to listen to that push. The most dangerous place for our Spirit to be is in neutral. Park is better than neutral, reverse is better than neutral (I know you are thinking how can going backward be better...but it's better than not caring whether you move forward or backward). I digress...back to the scripture.

These fishermen had done all they knew to do, they had fished all night and had nothing in their nets. Verse four said, Jesus was standing on the shore but they didn't know who he was at that moment. He called to them and asked them if they had any food, meaning had they caught anything. When they replied no, He told them to cast their nets to the other side. What happened next was one of those Jesus showing up and showing out moments, because their nets were full to an overflow.  Once they saw how full their nets were, something in them knew who was on the shore. Verse 11 said they had so many fish in their nets, yet it wasn't broken. The next verse shows the heart of Jesus when He said come and eat breakfast. I just love that....

I'm sure the disciples that were out fishing were tired. They were doing what they knew to do and yet were probably feeling defeated because the nets were empty. In that moment of defeat, someone whom they didn't recognize at first, said throw the nets to the other side. I'm sure the disciples probably thought are you kidding me, but they did it anyway. After all, they had spent all night with it in one place and nothing happened, why not do what this apparent stranger was saying. I wonder if they hadn't cast their nets to the other side if the scene would have continued the same way. How many times does that whisper of obedience not really make sense to us? We have been doing what we know to do and yet, God's whispering hey throw it to the other side.  It's not something that makes sense in the natural and honestly to anyone looking on the outside the obedience step may not make sense, but you may never know just how full your nets can be if you keep trying to fish with them on the side you have always been fishing on. Faith is throwing the net to the other side, knowing God's going to fill it up.

I was going to stop this blog right here, but then I noticed the subtitle for the next part of the chapter, Jesus Restores Peter. This is the year of Restoration, I know I have said that before in other posts. I've learned over the last month or so though that for things to be restored, you have to strip away what was there previously. The band-aids have to be ripped off and peroxide poured in. The old way of looking at things comes off and a new way is painted on. It's trading in our physical/soul way of looking at life, at ourselves and taking on how He views things. It's a process. The disciples may have not cast their nets on the other side if the had only been fishing for a short time. Obedience precedes restoration, Jesus had Peter's attention, He had Peter's focus, more than that He had Peter's heart.

Listen to the whispers this week reader.....is He saying it's time to cast the net to the other side? The world is waiting on us to be the body of Christ to them, by being His hands and Feet. It may not make sense to our physical to throw the nets to the other side, oh but what is waiting if we step out in faith and simply follow the whisper of the Master?