Fresh Fish Or Freshly Fixed?

That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. John 21:7 (ESV)
So a few weeks had passed since Jesus had risen from the dead and had met His disciples in the upper room. One day Peter decided, "I am going fishing". The others said, "We're going with you". So out they went.As they fished that night, they caught exactly zip. Nothing. Nada. Here they were, professional fishermen, and they couldn't even catch a gefilte fish. All night they drifted, with no results.How discouraging! They used to make a living doing this, and now they seemed totally inept. And then something happened. In the morning, as they drifted back towards the shore, someone from the beach called out to them, "Hey, kids, did you catch anything"? (My paraphrase)They called back, "No". I would imagine there's nothing more irritating and frustrating when you're fishing and not doing well than someone walking up and asking, "Didja catch anything?" But then this person yelled back, "Throw your nets on the OTHER side, and you'll find the fish!". I can imagine Peter thinking, "Uh... yeah, because there's a huge distance between the two sides of a small fishing boat... ok, whatever, bro." And yet, perhaps this suggestion triggered something in his memory, because that's what they did, and sure enough, "Jackpot!!!" Then we find this verse: "That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.” (John 21:7)
John totally realizes it's the Lord - After all, He had suggested the same thing before with the same results. And then Peter does something that seems strange: he takes his outer garment (like a cloak), puts it on, and then jumps into the water. Weird, huh? Why, if you were going to jump into the water, would you PUT ON more clothes? Well, here's my suggestion: Peter had once been a fisherman until this Jesus had told Peter to follow Him, saying, "I will make you a fisher of men". While he followed Jesus, that's exactly what he did. But that night in the courtyard, when he denied Jesus... Maybe he just couldn't shake that. Maybe he didn't feel worthy to be with Jesus, even though Jesus had proved He was Who He said He was. But when Jesus called out to throw the nets on the other side, and all those fish crammed into the nets, perhaps for Peter it was the reminder he needed of just Who Jesus was. And so he grabbed his coat, and jumped into the water. I don't think he planned on going back to that boat – that’s why he grabbed his stuff. He didn't care what the others did, he wanted to see Jesus. It's interesting to me that after they had eaten breakfast, Jesus has a conversation with Peter, and asks him three times if Peter loves Him to which Peter affirm his love for Jesus. And then Jesus tells Peter that he is going to die bringing glory to God, in effect telling him that he's never going back to fishing. He has been restored, and is given a commission to "feed My sheep". Sometimes in our lives we are at a place where we have been serving God, and seeing Him do marvelous things.He has turned us from "fishers of fish", to "fishers of men." But then something happens. Maybe it's sin, maybe someone hurts us, maybe we become discouraged. But whatever the cause, we find ourselves sitting in a smelly fishing boat, having fished all night, and having caught nothing, feeling discouraged.You know why?Because that's not what God has called to or equipped us to do. He called us out from the smelly fish, has given us new life, and new purpose, and He desires to use us to bring others to Him.
May I encourage you to never go back to "fishing"?God is always faithful to restore what the enemy rips off, and no matter what has happened, God wants to use you, and He has equipped you for something far greater than just "fishing for fish".So like Peter, when you see the Lord doing great things around you, grab your stuff, jump in and head to Jesus, because He has great plans for you!

I love you all,

Pastor CJ