When the Fish Ain't Biting

A look back on some of my past devotionals from my previous website:

After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way. Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing. But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.  So Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.”  And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.   (John 21:1-6 NASB)

Walking down a creek bank one day nearby a small North Carolina town, I happened across an old time  fisherman sitting on a five gallon bucket with a coffee can of worms.  I struck up a conversation with him and asked him how the fishing was doing on that particular day.  He spat into the dirt, stood up, wiped the sweat off of his weathered brow, lifted the lid to the bucket he was sitting on and pointed to the empty bucket and grumbled in his slow tongued southern drawl, "The fish ain't biting".  Have you ever had one of those days?  As the disciples struggled in catching fish, I can only imagine their frustration.  There is a huge difference between verse 3 and verse 6.  In verse 3, they caught nothing.  Every cast of the net was brought back to the boat without a single blessing.  In verse 6, they brought a bountiful of blessings in their boat that was above and beyond what they could handle that they simply were not able to bring in their catch.  Blessings, like the rain brings a sense of refreshment and renewal in our spiritual life.  Sometimes, when the "fish are not biting", we simply need to take a look within ourselves.  When we find the root of the problem, then we can experience the windows of Heaven open and truly enjoy the bountiful of "fishes" more than we can ever imagine.
                The first problem that catches my attention was the disciples "forgot".  Open up a fishing magazine and you will find numerous information on the different techniques on properly attracting a fish to your lure or bait.  After storing our rods for the winter, sometimes those techniques become lost, because we do not keep it fresh in our minds or it simply gets lost in the maze of information in our brain.  Jesus stood on the shore and the disciples did not realize that it was Him.   If we are not careful, our spiritual walk develops into a rut or a ritual that we forget the whole purpose of our relationship.  When we first developed our relationship, we went to church because we wanted to and we loved to.  As we progress in our walk, if we are not careful, our attitudes change and it simply becomes a ritual and we lost focus on why we really go.  The same can be said for anything such as why we tithe, why we serve, why we read, why we pray.  It is up to us to keep our relationship with God fresh so that we can continue to reap God's blessings and keep our focus pure.

The second problem is the disciples were in the wrong place.  Many times I have been out on my boat, only to spend most of the day finding the right spot where the fish was biting.   If we are not truly enjoying God's blessings, then we need to take stock of where we are at in our spiritual life.  If we are not in the right place spiritually, then we are robbing ourselves of a bountiful of fish.  Sometimes, the simple remedy of catching the fish is simply getting in the right place with God.  In verse 6, Jesus lets the disciple know the place they needed to be was on the other side.  They were fishing in the wrong place.  Where are you fishing at?

The third problem is one from personal experience.  Sometimes if the fish is not biting, you are simply fishing for the wrong fish.  Let me explain.   When I was around 12 years old, my dad and I headed to a section of a river near New Bern, NC.  Our goal for the day, stripers or hybrid striped bass.  As we anchored in what seem to be an ideal spot, we baited our hooks with cut herring and casually casted our lines out into the water just a few feet from the boat.  My dad had spent the days prior to our fishing trip the excitement of catching a striper.  After a large amount of time passed catching nothing, the tip of my rod reacted in a violent shaking motion.  I pulled on the rod to set the hook and my dad jumped to his feet excitedly.  After a pretty good battle, I reeled in my fish.  I beamed with excitement as I hauled in my first ever 4 pound.........catfish.  My dad looked at me and said, "well son, it is not a striper but it will do."  All day we spent searching for stripers only to catch none, but we did come home after catching a total of 10-15 catfish which we kept enough of in the cooler to feed our family of four.  You can look at this story in two ways.  We did not get what we set out to catch or we sure did catch a bountiful of catfish ranging in weight from 2-6 pounds.  Sometimes we forget to simply let God decide the blessings.  Instead of saying, I will only be happy and content if this happens, a change of attitude and just letting God do His thing will truly open our eyes and our hearts to appreciating even the simplest things.  Not all blessings come in grand fashion.  Sometimes, they come in the simplest ways.  Open your eyes and hearts to the things in your life and say "Lord, thanks for the bounty of fish."