Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: 2Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3”I’m going to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No”, they answered.
6He 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.
Darkness already shrouded the sky as I rode the MRT from Buendia to Taft. I had just finished applying for a new TIN ID from the BIR, and my list to do for the day only had two to three items ticked out of seven. Yikes! For someone who lived and died by her to-do list, I felt that my day was a disaster—and I was already exhausted. I told myself: “One day at a time, Karina.”
After I got home, I opened the Bible and was received by John 21.
“…So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.”
To be honest, having been a Christian for seven years, it was only at that time that I chewed on these words. Sure enough, I have read it before; but now that I think about it—these people were fishermen, yet they caught nothing. I knew right there and then, God was speaking to me.
Peter, Thomas and the rest of the disciples had a goal that night—and that was to fish and catch a number of fish. As for me, on that day, I had to get my PhilHealth ID, TIN ID, renew my UMID, etcetera. Yet in both scenarios, none of us succeeded. It was not that we were not prepared nor equipped to take on the task—for them, they were fishermen (I believe that qualifies them enough)! As for me, I was not new in the metro—I knew the routes, I estimated the traffic and I had my papers ready—but I did not accomplish the lot.
“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.”
There was no doubt that with this instruction, Jesus revealed again His sovereignty over all things, including the vast and deep sea. And as for me, what Jesus instructed me was not to overlook His sovereignty.
“Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore…”
Truly, early morn is a time which should be set apart for the Lord. That day, I actually thought I did good setting apart that time—I devoted my daybreak to planning on how to finish my tasks (pre-employment requirements), but I failed to ask God to actually go about the day.
“…but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.”
The following day, at daybreak, I asked for Him and He gave me what I didn’t know I was actually missing—I simply missed the joy of having Jesus. And that was more than enough for me.
“…When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.”
Wonder where I'll be off to next 