Ok, before your heart rate starts to rise, bear with me a second. This is not a post about the second coming of Jesus Christ. But it definitely is about waiting for Jesus. I was led to write this post after reading about the encounter some of Jesus's disciples had when He appeared to them after the resurrection. In John 21:1-14, the disciples had been toiling all night to catch fish, caught nothing and got frustrated. In their toiling, there would have also been some sadness about not having Jesus with them and lacking direction about what they would do until Jesus returned. Jesus had died as He had prophesied and they were waiting for the manifestation of the resurrection He had promised to them. Until then, they did the only thing they knew how to do: fish for fish. It wasn't yet their time to fish for men like Jesus had called them to do.
During that period of toiling for fish and getting frustrated, they didn't realise the one person they still needed was closer than they expected. What they didn’t know was that Jesus knew what they were going through and was on His way to give them what they needed: a HUGE catch that would more than make up for the night spent toiling. That's exactly what happened when Jesus appeared on the shore and met them. When Jesus came, in v6, He called out an instruction as He had done many times before (see Luke 5:1-6, Matthew 14:22-29). He directed them to cast their net into a specific area which yielded a catch they had never before seen in their lives! So what does this teach us about the need to follow the instructions of God in our own lives?
How many times do we spend so much time toiling over a particular situation, doing everything in our knowledge and power to make it work for us? Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad thing to do at all because laziness literally yields no profit (Proverbs 10:4). But how frustrating it is when that hard work and effort does not yield the results we expect! And it's not even like we're not praying either! Of course, we learn that in all situations, we must pray and ask God to give us the desires of our heart. But what is it that actually happens when God appears in our situation. There will obviously be a miracle because God's touch cannot be matched by any amount of effort we put into something. What was key in this situation was that the disciples recognised Jesus in that moment and followed His instruction immediately. In Luke 5, there were some questions; I mean, they were fishermen, Jesus was a carpenter. What did He know about the thing they'd spent years doing? In any case, they listened and it paid off, big time!
See what I mean about God's touch being unmatched by any amount of human effort? I know it's hard for you right now and I know you're doing all the things you know are the right things to do. Don't give up because Jesus is coming. He's on His way to deliver that instruction right now. He will not be late and He will not be delayed. I pray for you as you read this that when Jesus arrives, you will not miss His appearance or His instruction, in Jesus name. Amen.