I am speaking from a place that is familiar, only because I am walking IN it at this juncture in time; yet it in truth, it IS a place of unfamiliarity... casting my net on the other side of the boat.
In John 21, Peter, as well as Thomas, James, John, Nathaniel, and two other undisclosed disciples, find themselves in the very same predicament that I stand in at this moment. These highly skilled and overqualified fisherman had been up all night long throwing nets, and by dawn’s arrival, had caught no fish to speak of. And with the dawn came Jesus; a word beckoning them to a new level of faith. From one hundred yards away, Jesus, giving no word of persuasion, rather a blatant command, told them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. And from that faith-filled cast a blessing would be yielded.... and was.
What an uncomfortable place to be. You find Peter and his mates being told how to do their jobs from a stranger on the beach; who we only find out later is Jesus. What if the left side of the boat is all they had ever known; what if throwing with their left arm was more comfortable and more efficient than throwing with their right. Maybe taking the net to the other side was actually a rather large thing to ask of them; a pain staking task to be exact; maybe in that fact, they had to take up the anchor and reposition the boat to do so. And to be honest, would 20 feet the other direction really make a huge difference??? But to Jesus, this faithful response meant everything; and Peter and his boys voluntarily chose to venture into unfamiliar territory; a place where pride and fear cannot go; a place of great blessing, as well as stretching.
This makes me think about my own approach to Christ; how we approach others; our dreams....
Peter’s heart’s desire was to catch those fish. Intimate encounters with Jesus is my fish; what I am casting my net for. And maybe your hearts desire is to see lives miraculously changed by the Savior of the world; a longing we ALL have stitched within our being. But, has our approach found itself residing in a place of familiarity; hanging out on the comfortable side of the boat??? Like Peter, Jesus wants to fulfill the deepest desires of our hearts. But the question is, are we willing to walk away from comfort to receive blessing; a blessing extending far beyond what we originally conjured up in our minds.
Sometimes we have to allow Jesus to walk us to the other side of the boat to receive that blessing; a place of unfamiliarity and discomfort. But in this shift, not only will lives be transformed, but intimacy with our creator will find new depths.
Be bold and step out in faith.
John 21:1-14
