fishing

On Sunday the ministry was from this bit in Luke. Basically the disciples have been fishing all night long, they catch nothing, Jesus tells them to try again, and they have a miraculous huge catch of fish.
 In the film the Miracle Maker, Peter is muttering about the fact you don't catch fish in the daytime.

I have been thinking about this all since Sunday, and was prompted by what people were sharing last night to think about it again, so this is what I have gained from all this.

The disciples had been doing their job, they knew how to fish and they had been doing the best but had not caught anything.
They had not been fishing in the wrong place or at the wrong time or with the wrong kit or in the wrong weather. They were professional fishermen so they knew what to do.

When Jesus shows up he tells them to try again. It is the same lake, the same boat, the same nets, the same people. It seems to be the wrong time of day, but they do it because Jesus said so and when they let down the nets this time there is a miracle, tons of fish, almost to the point of sinking the boats.

Applying this to ourselves.... We know what we are doing, whether it is church life or at work we have got the routine sussed, we have the right kit to get the job done, we have a team around us to help, we have experience and lessons learnt from the past. We can do the job.
But sometimes it does not work. Things go wrong, or we get frustrated, or there is little reward for the effort put in. Sometimes it just seems like God does not come up with the goods as promised.

So... what should we do?
Do we conclude God does not exixt? Or He is judging us?
Should we go some place else and try something else? Join in a fruitful ministry or become a TV evangelist?
Or do we just give up?

I think what we need to do is find God's timing.
Stop, and pray, and listen to God. Then when you know the prompting of the Holy Spirit, try again.
I'm not saying sit in a corner and sulk and say "Jesus has not spoken to me, so I am not doing anything."
I am saying try making some space in your life to listen. Get rid of the trivial stuff, stop wasting time, pack in stuff that you know is not helpful. Do whatever it is that helps you draw closer to God, and when your spirit is back connected to Father/Jesus/Holy Spirit try again.

God is our Father, He is not mean or stingy but does want to bless us.
Jesus died for us. He did everything possible to help us come to the Father, He is not working in riddles.
The Holy Spirit is our companion and comforter. He brings our sighs and groans to God as prayers.

When we do things in Jesus' timing, there is blessing, there is generous abundance, there is reward for our efforts. The problem is when we rely on our efforts alone.

Having re-read all that I have written, I am ashamed to admit that most of the time I just go through the routine. I can get by living in community and doing my job even if I don't pray or worship outside of meetings. But I know there is abundant life to be had. I'm not promising the wealth and abundance you may hear spoken of by those who follow a prosperity doctrine. I am taking of the spiritual abundance which comes from living in a right relationship with Father/Jesus/Holy Spirit.