Cast the net on the right side!
Let us meditate on John 21:1-6. After His resurrection, Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias. Simon Peter and the other disciples went in for fishing. That night they caught nothing. But when the morning approached, Jesus stood on the shore but they knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus asked them, “Children, have ye any meat?” They answered Him, “No”. Then Jesus said unto them, “Cast the net on the right side of the ship and ye shall find”. They accordingly cast the net and they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Similarly, dear disciple of Christ, you have been toiling all these days and casting your net for a blessing. It has been eluding you for a long time. Now the night is gone and the dawn has come in your life. The night has to be invariably followed by the morning. How long the night will last? It will not be there forever. Jesus is now standing on the shore. Now you may not be recognizing Him. However, He has a great concern for you. He does not bother about what you have done for Him. His immediate concern is your welfare. He asks you, “Have you any meat?”
Meat means material blessing or divine healing or miracle. Any blessing on your material life can be called as meat. You have been casting your net on the wrong side of your ship all these days. There is a right side of your ship. The blessing in abundance is not far off. It is very nearer you than you imagine and is within your reach.
If your marriage life is broken for a long time, it is now time for you to cast the net on the right side. You have to take a step towards the right side. You must go to your spouse and tell him/her that Jesus wants you to live with him/her and that you love him/her without any prejudice. If you are on the look out for a particular job, you must now apply for a similar job, which will be far better than the job you look for. If you are incurring heavy losses in your present business, you must now look for a similar business in the same field. If your present ministry to God is not yielding the desired result, you should now cast your net on the right side where the Holy Spirit leads you. You may be now pasturing a church against your calling because God has called you to be an evangelist. You should now abide in your evangelical calling. If you are suffering from an incurable disease for a long time, you should now cast your net on the right side by taking a step of faith. Take a bottle of oil, pray over it and apply the oil on the affected part of your body saying, “This is the Blood of Jesus shed for healing me”. For this purpose, you need not go to any servant of God.
- Job Anbalagan