It happened again.

You lost your temper.

You failed your diet.

You and your husband got into argument.

You missed your morning devotions.

I’m starting over tomorrow, you think. This time I’m not going to mess up.

Oh, friend I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought this. All the “never agains” and “Next times” and “It’ll be differents.”

And yet I go back to what I know. My old eating habits. My emotions bottle up in my attempt to be cool and not explode and then I explode-again. I set my alarm to wake up early and I push snooze again and again…

Then there are the times when the bottom just drops out of our world. What we knew as solid ground has eroded, falling away like a wave over our feet.

Sometimes, there’s no choice but to start over. We know we need to build again and so we go back to what we know. We push the reset button and have a go at it again. But we’re even more tired this time. We’re even more weary and jaded but we try to gain our strength and start again.

In John 21:1-14, the disciples are at this point in their journey. They’ve followed Jesus and He’s been crucified. Everything they’ve been building their life on is seemingly gone. It seems like the story is over. Book closed. The end. So they go back to what they know; they go fishing.

They’ve been fishing all night and haven’t caught anything. I’m sure they’re tired. They’re hungry. They’re at a loss as to what they should do next. And then Jesus appears. He is on the shore; they are in their boat. They hear a voice ask them, “Have you caught any fish?”

Jesus obviously knew they hadn’t caught anything. Why would He even ask? He’s not trying to be mean, or rub it in their faces. This question goes deeper than just to the matter of fish. I don’t believe Jesus to be one who, with a shaking head and pointing finger, makes us to feel stupid. It was pointed out to me that He asks questions like this so that we’re honest with ourselves. I do believe Him to be one who needs us to see what it is we’re actually doing, no excuses. He is asking, “Is what you’re doing any good? Is this really working for you?”

“No,” they grumble. Surely this was devastating in itself. They were fisherman! Fishermen with an empty boat. They had come back to what they knew and even that wasn’t working out like they’d thought.

Jesus suggests (or tells) them to cast their net on the other side. “Really?” they must have thought. “The other side? Hadn’t thought of that.” Don’t you love when people tell you obvious things like that?

Trying to lose weight? “Well, just exercise more and eat less.”

Trying to have a baby? “Just keep trying. At least it’s fun to try, right?!”

Trying to find a job? “Just go online. Just fix your resume.”

Not obvious at all, right?

I’m sure the disciples were just so tired, so at the end of their rope that they thought, “Fine. We’ll try it.”

And what do you know? It worked.

Their catch was so large that the net was full and overflowing. One minute they had an empty boat; the next it is full of fish. It’s then that John realizes whose advice it was that they had just followed. “It is the Lord!”

Sometimes what we actually need to do really is that obvious and that simple. God’s commands usually are. “Fear not,” He tells us. “Follow me.” “Cast your net on the other side.”

It’s not that these are complicated. But sometimes we tend to miss it because it’s so obvious.

Or we feel like we’ve already tried that. But have we tried it with God’s leading? That’s why He asks the question. “Are you doing any good here? Have you caught anything?” and when we hang our head and grumble, “no” He offers an alternative. “How about you try it my way now?”

Jesus didn’t really need them to change where their net was. He could have put the fish into the net exactly where it was. Right? He needed them to see that their old way of working wasn’t going to cut it anymore. He needed them to see the new direction; He needed them to see Him.

It’s not about the striving. It’s not about how long they were fishing or how heavy the net was. It wasn’t about their own muscles or their own brains. It wasn’t about coming up with the best logical place to fish or the best bait. It wasn’t about having it all just right.

Friends, I need this lesson over and over again. I so often think in logical terms. If I just have it this way, then everything should go right.

But sometimes all our best planning falls short. What we thought was going to happen just doesn’t. There may not even be a reason why.

But then, and this is what I love, Jesus then invites them to come and eat. There isn’t any gloating. There isn’t any “See, I told you so!” There isn’t any reprimanding while angrily throwing together breakfast. There is only the fire going and Jesus offering them rest and nourishment. They are His people and He sees their striving. He sees the sweat of their brow and their calloused hands. He sees our tears and our attempts to have it all together. He sees and He offers.

Try it this way.

There is a better way. It may not be what you’re used to but it works.

Come. Eat. Rest.

Rest.

Doesn’t that sound wonderful? Rest. No more striving. No more trying to go our own way. No more trying to hold the map, steer the ship, gain our nourishment, solve all the problems.

This isn’t the first time Jesus told them to cast their nets on the other side. It happened before. If you notice Jesus has a way of doing things again, too.

He appeared to them.

He offered them food.

He showed them a better way.

He offers forgiveness.

He offers the chance to start over.

Again and again and again.

And He tells us, “Your story isn’t over. Try again. I love you. I forgive you. Come and rest. Again and again.”

If you’re looking for a better way, if things look dark, let Him show you His way. Take Him up on His offer. Go from empty to full and be able to proclaim, “It is the Lord!”