John 21:1-10
They had toiled all night and caught nothing (v3). How many times we have indeed experienced the same desperate, sad set of circumstances spiritually. We are then no strangers to how they must have felt. We, many times, toil all night with nothing to show for our toils and labor. In fact, repeatedly we go through dry spells and dry seasons. Long, Dry, Weary Nights! Oftentimes we have so-called revivals and nights of special meetings, and nothing seems to give, nobody gets saved, nobody surrenders. We toil, but to no avail! We preach long sermons, we sing, we testify, we witness, we warn, but with very little results, if any.
Surely, we are compelled to keep in mind if He does not come by, if He doesn’t bless all our operations and enterprises, we indeed labor but in vain (Psalm 127:1,2). It is the blessing of the Lord that makes all the difference. I also think that the illumination of the apostle, speaks powerfully to this thought when he states, “Paul planted, Apollos watered but God gave the increase” (1 Cor 3:6). Our whole endeavor miserably fails without the supernatural intervention of the Almighty. It is all a senseless exercise in futility without Him.
As the context of the passage indicates, it was not only dark physically, but spiritually there seems to have been a darkness which overwhelmed the disciples, influencing their misguided decision to go back to doing what they did before submitting to following the master. However, John quickly submits for our consideration and instruction, they were completely unsuccessful.
Instead of waiting on God for further instructions, they impulsively, instinctively rushed back into doing what they knew how to do. Don’t we still make the same mistake today? As soon as things don’t go how we want, we think about going back to old occupations and preoccupations. Like Peter we rashly say, “I go a fishing”(v3). However, as stated already, any adventure not sanctioned by the blessing of the Almighty is already doomed to miserable failure.
Granted their motives may have been good. They may have been driven by the need for food and survival, but the real crisis lay in the fact that they had left Him out. Church of God, we can never leave Him out of our planning, deliberations, and life-choices. May we always have enough presence of mind to know that our self-sufficiency is inadequate. It seemed all well and good from the outside, but what we had here was the danger of a Christless ship. The crisis of a Christ-less ship! What a tragic nightmare and recipe for disaster! Brethren, we dare not venture forth without Him – His favor, His consent, and His blessings!
I remain absolutely convinced that nothing happens without Him. Without Him, we fall apart, we crash, we sink, we make shipwreck. To be without the master is not only dreadful – it is a scandal of the worst kind. This ship needs His divine guidance for victory and success. It is compellingly forceful how John states it “And that night they caught nothing.” Let us be cautioned again, anytime we go forth or move forward for the wrong reason or motive we are guaranteed to meet with the same fate. We shamefully come back with Nothing!
May the Christ that stood on the shore that day in the early morning hours be allowed to speak light and wisdom into our spiritual darkness and emptiness (v4). May God give us enough sense to hear Him, see Him and obey Him, that our long night of drought and dryness may be over. We dare not go forth without Him!
Leroy V. Greenaway
Presiding Bishop – Northeast Region
