Casting Our Cares

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘Children, have you any food?’ They answered Him, ‘No.’ And He said to them, ‘Cast the net on the right side of the boat…’ So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.” John 21:5-6

On a dark night seven disciples decided they were going out in a boat to fish. A great deal of work was required when preparing to take a boat out on a fishing excursion. It was late at night, so I assume the men were tired but hopeful to catch, cook, clean and eat the fish. Hour upon hour their empty nets surfaced but their frustration no doubt was plentiful. I’ll bet their muscles were giving out after hours of casting the weighted nets into the dark to no avail. Early the next morning, as they dragged their dirty nets and their exhausted bodies to shore, they still had to clean the boat and fishing equipment. But Jesus called out to them encouraging them to fish on the opposite side of the boat. I wonder if they were irritated since they had been fishing all night from all sides of the boat. I am sure they were tired, hungry and frustrated that they came up empty. But what did they have to lose? They had caught absolutely nothing to satisfy their hunger and efforts. But because Jesus inserted Himself in their equation the yield was miraculous and their satisfaction complete. As they battled their nothingness in their situation, it wasn’t until Jesus was near that their everything was provided.

Each of us are also in our own little boats waiting…watching…fishing for positive outcomes. We want our nets to pull in normalcy, contentment and freedom. When we cast our emotions into the worries of nothingness, we yield nothing. But when we cast our nets into the Living Waters, they are so full of the abundance of Jesus we can barely drag our nets in. It isn’t until we calculate our catch with Jesus in the middle that we catch what we are fishing for…peace…hope…joy. As we continue to live during these challenging times, let us make sure we are casting our weighted nets onto Jesus.

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7