The Lord's Faithful Supply

The Lord speaks through various means, at different times, and in different ways. This time, it was through our pursuit of the word of God. I was deeply impressed by the way the Lord choose, trained, and led His disciples, and perfected them to be His apostles who propagated His very life from Jerusalem and to the rest of the world. This particular portion from the Life-Study of the Gospel of John is amazing:

Lessons from John Chapter 21Excerpt from the Life-Study of the Gospel of John, Message 48 

The matter of our living is very practical. This is why the Gospel of John has this additional chapter. Since we are the sons of God who have been regenerated and committed with the divine commission, the Lord will certainly take care of our living. We must learn the lesson of not giving up the Lord’s commission because of our living. We must not give up the Lord’s burden in order to care for our existence. We are not the people of the world; we are the children of God. We must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then the Lord will add the practical supply to us (Matt. 6:33). He will take care of our need. If we have been truly commissioned by the Lord for His burden, for His work, and for His testimony, we may be at peace and rest assured that the Lord will grant us the provision we need. This is the lesson in this portion of John 21.

Look at the picture once again. The disciples labored the entire night and caught nothing. Then the Lord appeared to them and told them to cast the net on the right side of the boat, and they caught a multitude of fish. Those fish were unnecessary, however, because the Lord had already prepared some fish, as well as some bread, for them to eat. This was not a lesson in words; it was a lesson by miracles. The Lord did not teach Peter and the other disciples by giving them a lecture, a sermon, or a message. He gave them a lesson by three miracles. The first miracle was that seven men fishing the whole night could not catch even one fish. The second miracle was that they finally caught one hundred fifty-three fish in one net at the Lord’s word. The third miracle was that without the fish caught from the sea, some fish and some bread had already been prepared on the land. The Lord taught His disciples a lesson by these three miracles.

The lesson the disciples learned here was that they must take care of the Lord’s commission and trust in the Lord for their living. We must take care of the Lord’s work and testimony instead of our living. If we give up the Lord’s commission to look after our living, we shall fail. In 21:2-14, the Lord gave the disciples a lesson about their sustenance, showing them that their living does not depend upon their natural means but upon the Lord’s will. If we are in the Lord’s will and under His will, He will prepare a living for us even in the impossible places. However, if we take the natural way and go to the sea, that is, to the world, to find employment for our living, we shall be faced with failure. If we have been called by the Lord, we should not worry about our living. The Lord Jesus has a way to prepare fish without fishing. He will take care of our food, for He is the One who calls the things not being as being. The Lord who has called us will take care of our living.

The Lord has used even miracles to teach His disciples of trusting in Him for their living. Never did I see this matter so clearly: the three miracles.

The First Miracle: Professional fishermen fishing the whole night and catching no fish. 

John 21:3

Simon Peter said to them, I am going fishing. They said to him, We also are coming with you. They went forth and got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. 

This was the Lord's sovereignty in not allowing any fish to be caught to teach the disciples whom He chose and loved, to let them know that it was Him who would take care of their livelihood and that they simply believe and trust Him at His word and carry out the divine commission He commissioned them. 

The Second Miracle: The Lord commanded them to fish at a specific spot, not caring for the natural and professional logic of where and when fish would be. He is the Lord of the sea and the fish too; at His word, all is well and possible. Obeying the Lord's word is a very important lesson. At His word, a hundred and fifty three fish were caught, and their net could still hold them. 

John 21:6

And He said to them, Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some. They cast therefore, and they were no longer able to haul it in because of the abundance of fish. 

John 21:11

Simon Peter therefore went up and hauled the net to the land full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. 

The Third Miracle: Though enough fish were caught at the Lord's word, the Lord did not use any of the fish to feed the disciples but He prepared from His own, bread and fish to feed them. 

John 21:13

Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise. 

When the Lord called a person He takes full responsibility of His called ones. Where there is no fish He can command fish along with bread, cooked and baked, ready to eat. In serving the Lord as called ones, we must simply trust Him for everything. He knows better than we can even explain nor imagine. Our only and simple responsibility is to serve Him as He leads, leaving all the other cares and  concerns to Him; be it our living, health, wealth, family, etc., all to Him. He knows best and He will do what is best.