Day 1 - February 7th 2022

Read John 21:6

6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Do you ever feel like too much is being thrown at you? Like you can’t handle what should just be everyday life? At the very beginning of their time with Jesus, the disciples – then fisherman – were told by Jesus to draw up their nets with the fish inside. Luke 5 says that they had gone all day without catching fish. Why would anything good happen to them after a hard day that amounted to nothing? But life with Jesus is abundance. Their nets broke and their boats almost sank from the sheer multitude of fish they caught. Three years later, Jesus again tells the disciples to catch fish (John 21), but this time, their nets don’t break. They are prepared because they’ve spent time learning and working. 

These two stories serve as a metaphor for how the disciples became “fishers of men” (Luke 5:10). The disciples have spent time getting to know Jesus and His will for their lives, which was to share His message of love and salvation with the world. This is His will for us, too, but we can’t learn all He has to teach us in one night. After the disciples caught the fish, Jesus gave them a simple invitation: “Come and have breakfast” (John 21:12). Jesus wants to spend daily time with us through prayer and His word. He wants to join our rhythms, however hectic they may be. The point of spending time with Him isn’t perfection – it’s participation.

When we spend time with Jesus, it is time well spent. Challenge yourself to spend a few minutes “having breakfast with Jesus” every morning for the next twenty-one days, perhaps even before checking your phone notifications. Open your hands to receive what God has to give you.