Going Fishing

John 21:3

Many guys don't like dealing with emotions. When it comes to having to face how you feel, we find something else to do. "Feelings" make us feel super uncomfortable. It is not that we do not have them, but they are ours and we want to keep it that way. This is not healthy, and I am not making excuses, but it is often our natural impulse. So, when there was nothing to do but face how he felt about everything that had transpired over the last week, it is not surprising that Peter found something else to do. I probably would have too.

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Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”

They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.

John 21:3

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I can only imagine what Peter was feeling and thinking. He had been so bold in stating that he would not forsake Jesus. He had been adamant that he would not forsake Him. Sure, the others might, but not him. He loved Jesus. He was prepared to die for Jesus. He even went so far as to cut off the ear of the High Priest's servant. But then everything fell apart. Jesus told him to stop and put away his sword. He didn't know what to do, so he ran. He left Jesus!

Then, already at a loss of what to do, Peter followed behind the mob. He saw what they were doing to Jesus. How they spit on Him, hit Him, and mocked Him. All of this was gut wrenching to watch. Then, out of nowhere someone asks the question, "Aren't you one of Jesus's followers?" Caught off guard, he blurts out the answer, "No! I don't know what you are talking about." He walks away, only to be confronted by another. He again says he does not know Jesus. Then a third person askes him the same question. It feels like he cannot get away from the interrogation. "I swear, I do not know Him!". At that moment a rooster crowed and he remembered Jesus's words "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times” (Matthew 26:34). All he could do was run away.

As if all that was not bad enough, Jesus had been crucified. Then there was the emotional rollercoaster of his body being missing, only to find out that it was not missing, but He was alive. Wait! He is alive. He is alive and Peter had denied Him. How could he face Jesus? All this sitting around was driving him crazy. All this time to think, wonder, regret. He had to do something. He would do what he knew best, fish.

What Peter did not know was that his journey was coming full circle. He did go fishing, and that whole night they caught nothing (v. 3). It had been on such a night that he had been called by Jesus to be one of His disciples. I wonder if this crossed Peter's mind? Then, a man spoke to them from the shore. "Children, have you any food?" (v. 5). They answered no, and the stranger told them to cast their nets on the other side. What would it hurt? So they did and suddenly the nets were full and breaking. Deja vu!

We all mess up. We all deny Jesus at times. If we love Him, our denial causes us to hurt. Then, Satan has a way of rubbing salt into the wounds. We feel like we need to run away and return to our old life. But, just like the story of Peter, Jesus has a way of bringing our story full circle. He brings us back to where we met Him the first time. The place where He called us is often where He reaffirms our calling. It may not be a literal geographic location, but there will be something familiar that says "I am not finished with you." I have been there. Those emotions that hurt so bad, and we try so hard to avoid, are what makes His forgiveness so much sweeter. It is through these times that we feel His love so much deeper.

Thank you Lord for often bringing us back to where we met you. Many times our spirit is willing, but our flesh is weak. We mess up and feel unredeemable. In those times, you remind us that we have already been redeemed. You truly never leave us, nor forsake us.