Have You Gone Back to the Old Way? ~ Sunday Devotion
“I’m going out 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. John 21:3 (NIV)
What do you do when life gets hard? When you’re not sure where to turn?
We often go back to the familiar. To an old way of doing things. Oftentimes, that way isn’t productive. But still, it’s what we know. It’s what we’re comfortable with. It’s our default mode.
In this passage, I feel like Peter is discouraged. He’s not sure what to do. He’d recently denied Jesus. Jesus had died and risen, but what would happen next? He didn’t know. But what he did know was fishing. That’s what he did before Jesus had called him. So he goes back and does what he’s familiar with. But this time, it didn’t help. He wasn’t successful.
Have you found yourself in Peter’s shoes? Discouraged? Life seems out of control, so you turn to something you feel as if you can control. You do something you’re familiar with and do it the old way.
Jesus is standing on the shore waiting for you to do things His way. Share on X
I can’t tell you how many times after God set me free from diets, gimmicks, and quick fixes that I toyed with going back to those things. I threw away the scale more than once and loaded and deleted calorie counting apps multiple times because monitoring numbers made me feel in control. They gave me something to focus on instead of the work I needed to do in my mind and my heart.
But just like with Peter, Jesus was standing on the shore waiting for me to shift my focus back to Him and do things His way. Instead of doing things the way I was used to, I had to do them God’s way. And when I did, I found freedom. I learned how to embrace my age and stage of life.
Peter went out to fish. There wasn’t anything wrong with that. The problem was his approach. When he obeyed the Lord and put the net in on the opposite side, he was rewarded.
It’s the same for you and me. There’s nothing wrong with pursuing health. We need to be healthy so that we can live the life God has called us to live. But the means by which we pursue health must be directed by the Lord. When we do it God’s way, we’ll no longer be frustrated and discouraged. We’ll start living fit and free.
Action Step: Have you returned to old ways of doing things? Jesus is standing on the shore waiting to give you guidance. Look up and follow Him.
Happy Sunday!
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