Peter went fishing. Sometimes, that is the best thing to do.
John 21:3, "Simon Peter said, "I'm going fishing." "We'll come, too," they all said. So they went out in the boat."
I listened to a sermon last Easter, and this verse stood out. I thought, how human of Peter. It is interesting what we do to clarify our thinking; we gravitate to our comfort zone.
After Christ’s Crucifixion, He appeared to the disciples in the upper room to receive the holy spirit. Even though the disciples, Peter included, saw Jesus alive and touched the scars, it didn’t seem real. The disciples were heartbroken and disillusioned. They thought they had followed the savior of the world only to see Him crucified. How would a dead man, resurrected or not, free them from Roman rule? They didn’t know what was next. They knew Christ was the beginning of something great but didn’t understand what that was.
John 6:15, "Then Jesus, realizing that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, withdrew again to the hillside by himself."
Peter did what we all do: gravitate back to what we know. We find busy work to occupy our time until we figure out what’s next.
HOW DOES GOD USE THESE MOMENTS
Interestingly, this passage brought back two memories for Peter: good and not-so-good. First, the good: Peter first met Jesus when he was fishing. He had fished all night, not caught anything, and Jesus asked him to throw his net again. Jesus’ request of Peter was precisely what happened the second time when Peter went fishing after the Crucifixion. The second memory is Jesus cooking fish over a charcoal fire on the beach. Peter might have remembered the last time he smelled a charcoal fire; he denied Christ three times.
I firmly believe God does not waste energy; everything has a purpose. When Peter was at his lowest point, God returned two essential images. The first was the joy of meeting Jesus and his immediate dedication to Him. This image had to lift his spirits. The second was the image of his weakness. It was a backward glimpse of what the world would be like if Peter didn’t believe. It brought back all of the pain he felt when that rooster crowed.
I can’t speak for Peter, but for me, it would have reinforced why I have to hold on to the goodness of Christ’s promise and run from my weaknesses. It would be both a push and a pull: push away from doubt, pull closer to faith.
WHAT TO DO WHEN LIFE DOESN’T SEEM FAIR
James 1:3, "knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance."
“No matter what storm you face, you need to know that God loves you. He has not abandoned you.” – Franklin Graham.
We tend to go fishing. We want to break away from the uncertainty and draw close to something we know and understand. That is OK for a time, but it doesn’t produce results like Peter. It is nothing more than a temporary holding place to regroup.
Like Peter, we need to be reminded of the past. We need to remind ourselves of the great things God has done for us and through us. The glory of the past leads us toward the future. We also need to be reminded of what it is like to deny Christ. As dark as the world can seem, it is nothing compared to separation from Christ. To live without hope has to be the darkness within darkness.
Romans 8:35, "Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?"
HAPPY ENDINGS
Christ built His church on the rock named Peter. If you are willing, He will raise you out of the malaise of your life. He will use all you have gone through to create an even brighter future than you could have imagined.
Matthew 16:18, "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."
God may not create a worldwide revival through you, but what He will build through you, the gates of Hades, will not overcome it. The power you have at your disposal is incredible; we sometimes lose that. When things don’t go as we think they should, we forget the redeeming power of Christ’s resurrection.
Whenever you feel the darkness closing in, remember Peter. You and Peter have a lot in common.
John 16:33, "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world, you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."