To Encourage You

John 21:11-12 “So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ Now none of the disciples dared ask him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew it was the Lord.”

Have you ever had something happen in your life where things worked out incredibly well, although you had every reason to believe they would not?  I have – on more than one occasion.  There were times in my career when I needed help with something, a lot of help, but I had no idea where it would come from. Then all of a sudden, someone showed up to help me; someone with just the right gifts and the willingness to work incredibly hard to address a challenge. The result was success when success looked anything but certain early on.  I recall when we bought our first house. We had essentially no money, and no idea how we would ever pull it off, when out of nowhere we received unexpected help.  At such times, I’ve wondered, perhaps just as did the disciples in John 21 above, “could this have been the work of the Lord in my life?” 

In the verses above we are told that “none of the disciples dared ask Jesus “Who are you?” Isn’t that strange? This was the third post-resurrection appearance of Jesus to them, yet somehow His identity remained hidden from them.  These men had fished all night and caught nothing. Then, at this “stranger’s” word they had simply cast their net on the right side of the boat and caught so many fish they couldn’t haul the net in.  What an awesome experience, one that only could have come from the hand of God, yet they were so taken by it all that they didn’t dare ask the stranger who He was, although they knew in their hearts that it could only have been the Lord. 

Likewise, in our wonder at how things sometimes could have ever worked out as they did, how often do we wonder if God’s hand was in it?  Well, we shouldn’t wonder, for His hand is present in every situation in our lives, whether we recognize it or not. 

King David came to a deep appreciation of this wonder with these words from Psalm 139: “O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.   Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.  You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.  Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!  If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.  If I say, ’Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,’ even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.” 

And all of this is true whether things work out “well” for us, or not, in any particular situation.  For the believer, even the “bad things,” at least from our perspective, are nothing other than the hand of God in our lives as well.  God has told us that we should “Count it all joy . . . when you meet trials of various kinds,for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4).  In other words, God is telling us that whether in good times or bad, He is right there with us.  In fact, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). 

Oh, that we could realize the awesomeness of the presence of Jesus in our lives. He is right there with us all the time, and His hand is working to help us, whether we recognize that it is His hand, or not.