Saturday, 18 September 2021

Title: Not Understanding, Yet Obey (John 21:3-12)
By: Chan Yew Thai

The context of the above passage is Peter wanted to go fishing and invited the rest to join him. They were all fishermen by trade. With the death of their Master (Jesus), they might be thinking of returning to their previous occupation. After whole night out in the sea, they caught nothing. Early in the morning as they were calling it a night, Jesus instructed them to cast their net on the right side of the boat. Following His instruction, they got a big catch.

When I read the above passage, I wondered why there was no protest from Peter and friends. They fished the whole night and caught nothing. Being experienced and professional fishermen, they knew what they were doing. Could it be they were in a state of despondency and did what they were told? They were at their lowest point after the death of Jesus, more so for Peter who earlier claimed that he would lay down his life for Jesus (John 13:37), but denied his Master thrice when facing the challenge; were they just being obedient even if they did not understand? At the time when they threw their net to the right of the boat, they had not recognised that it was Jesus who was talking to them (v 4). When they followed Jesus’ instruction, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Then, John recognised Jesus and told Peter that it is the Lord. When Peter heard that, immediately he jumped into the water and waded towards Jesus. Jesus met them on the shore and asked them to bring some fish and to join Him for breakfast.

In life, many times we encounter such situation, especially when we are at our lowest point. We may be told or may have a hunch to do something, but do not understand why. Should we follow our intuition and obey, we may in retrospect find that it is the correct thing to do. This is when we have prayed over it for some time. Our faith and obedience may be tested at times and it is at these times that we really learn and experience the faithfulness and goodness of our Lord Jesus: when we obey without understanding but still submit totally. Our Lord knows our needs and encourages us when we most need it.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your love and faithfulness. You know us and our needs and meet us when we most need it. May You open our hearts, eyes and ears to be sensitive to Your presence and prompting. Help us to obey even when we fail to understand and submit to Your leading and guiding. In Your mighty name we pray. Amen!

每日靈糧
2021 年 9 月 18 日
星期六
標題：雖不理解，卻順從（約翰福音 21:3-12）
作者：陳友娣姐妹
翻譯 : 王靖端姐妹

上面這幾段經文是彼得要打魚去，並邀請其他的人一同前往。他們原本都是漁民。隨著他們的主（耶穌）的去世，他們可能在考慮回到以前從事的行業。”那一夜並沒有打著甚麼”，他們一無所獲。”天將亮的時候”，當他們打算收工時，耶穌吩咐他們在船的右邊撒網。聽從了衪的指示而行後，他們收獲豐碩。

當我讀到上面這幾段經文時，我惊異奇怪為什麼彼得和他的朋友們沒有反對抗議。他們徹夜打魚，亳無收獲。作為經驗豐富老練的以捕魚為生的漁民，他們知道自己在做什麼。難不成他們心灰意冷，而照他們被指示的去做了？耶穌死後，他們處於人生的最低谷，彼得更是如此，他早先聲稱他會為耶穌捨命（約翰福音 13:37），但在面對挑戰時卻三次否認他的主；難道他們不理解就隨便照做嗎？當他們把網撒到船的右邊時，他們還沒有認出是耶穌在和他們說話（第 4 節）。當他們聽從耶穌的吩咐”便撒下網去，竟拉不上來了，因為魚甚多。”

然後，約翰認出了耶穌，並告訴彼得是主。彼得一聽，立刻跳進水里，泅水到耶穌那兒。耶穌在岸邊和他們相遇，讓他們帶些魚來和衪一起吃早飯。

在生活中，我們很多時候都會遇到這樣的情況，尤其是在我們生命最低谷的時候。我們可能被告知或可能有做某事的預感，但不明白為什麼。如果我們跟隨這直覺走，後來追溯回想起來可能會發現這是正確的做法。這乃是我們已為它禱告了一段的時間。我們的信心和順服有時會受到考驗，正是在這種時候，我們才真正學習和體驗到我們主耶穌的信實和仁慈：當我們雖不明暸卻仍然完全地順服。我們的主知道我們的需求，並在我們最需要的時候支持激勵我們。

禱告：天父，我們感謝祢的愛和信實。祢了解我們和我們的需求，並在我們最需要的時候滿足我們。願祢打開我們的心、眼睛和耳朵，能敏感地感受到祢的存在和提示。幫助我們順服，即使我們無法理解卻要順從祢的帶領和引導。我們奉祢大能的名禱告。阿門！