John 21:9 – When (the disciples) landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
When we are out in the ocean of life trying to get a good catch, we can find our Lord already having a catch for us and is waiting for us to go to Him. He knows that our immediate concern is for food and drink and He prepares it for us. He doesn’t need to catch any fish because He is the owner of it all. He knows what our immediate needs are and provides for it all at the right time. The disciples were backsliders, but He didn’t use that time to scold them. He first of all took care of their tired bodies and strengthened them. He gave them all that they wanted. Their nets were filled and tummies were also filled. Thus when they were ready, He conversed with them and brought them to a point of contrition and confession. His ultimate concern was to restore their souls, but He didn’t ignore their need for restoration of their bodies. He used the opportunity to remind the disciples that He was sufficient for all their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. In our times of discouragement, depression, deprivation and disillusionment, our Lord comes to welcome us to His presence where there is provision for all our needs to be met according to His riches in glory. He knows these needs well in advance and prepares to meet the needs at the right time. He doesn’t deal with us according to our iniquities, but according to His mercy and grace. He is a compassionate Lord who will not reject us in our times of need, but meets our needs and help us to settle matters with Him. He is the God of new beginnings and so will want to wipe our past failures and disobedience so that we can start on a new slate. Today He is waiting for us to go to Him with broken hearts and lives with all our needs and get it all satisfied according to His standards for lasting fulfillment and contentment.
Dear reader, are you going through a time of desperation and depravity about your failures and losses in life? Do you feel abandoned and forgotten by everyone around you? Even if all others forget you, the Lord will not. Even if a lake full of fish disappoints you, the Lord will not. Even when you catch a lot of gold and silver from the ocean of life with your own effort, they will not satisfy your soul. Only when the Lord meets your needs can you be fully and meaningfully satisfied. What He gives far exceeds what others offer. Often the other sources disappoint us and send us empty handed even after we struggle all night, but our Lord will be there at the right time to meet our basic needs. When we are in dire need, our Lord will prepare a table for us in unusual places and warm our hearts and bodies. Our eyes will be filled with the sight of the blessings that our Lord spreads before us. He is committed to meeting all our needs and to satisfying us fully. But He wants us to love Him not for what He gives us, but for who He really is and what He has done for our souls. He is the Lord who supplied food for Elijah at the right time each day through His unusual messengers. He fed His children throughout their wilderness journeys of 40 years. But even after they came out of the wilderness, it was He who fed them. The Lord who satisfied the needs of Peter and the other disciples is with us today. All we need to do is to recognize His place in our lives and sit at His presence and draw from His reservoir to our satisfaction.
Psalms 107:9 – For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. Thought for TodayThe daily bread that the Lord supplies gives us greater satisfaction than the countless wealth that we amass from this world.
