Yet Was Not the Net Broken
“And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.”John 21:6 (KJV)
After a night of catching nothing, the disciples heard a voice from the shore: “Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find.” They did, and “they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.”
John counted them. “Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.” A hundred and fifty-three large fish, and the net held.
Fishermen knew what a heavy catch could do to a net. Earlier in the Gospels, nets break under a great catch. Here, with the risen Lord on the shore, nothing tears. What he fills, he also holds.
John adds that this was “the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.” He kept showing up. If your life feels stretched to breaking, remember who is on the shore. What he gives, he can hold together.
Count it yourself
John counted the great fishes: 153 (John 21:11). It was the third time Jesus showed himself to his disciples after he was risen (21:14).
Where does your life feel stretched to breaking? What would it mean to trust the one who keeps the net from tearing?
Risen Lord, you fill my net and you keep it from breaking. I trust you with what feels too heavy. Amen.