“Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.” We can work and strain as much as we want but unless the Lord blesses our efforts, we are striving in vain. Peter and his crew were accomplished fishermen, but their success didn’t come from their work or their training. It came from the Lord. It is the Lord who blessed their efforts. This became abundantly clear when Jesus gave them a foolish command. He told them to go fishing at the worst time of the day and exactly where to let down their nets. And because of His Word, they were blessed with abundant success. Indeed, they had such success that it nearly drowned them. Only then did Peter realize who was in the boat with him and it didn’t bring him joy. It brought him terror because the fish didn’t matter anymore, only the fact that he was standing in the presence of God Almighty and Peter knew well that he was a sinner. But the Lord had not come to destroy Peter and He does not come to destroy you. The Lord Jesus comes to have mercy on sinners. He comes to forgive and promises you that He will also provide your daily bread. Do not spend your life toiling and straining, imagining that your hard work is the source of what you have. All good and necessary things come from your Lord who desires that you have nothing less than life and salvation. Put aside the work you do so that your gracious Lord may work in you and He will add all the other things that you need to you as well. I look forward to seeing you this coming Lord’s Day.
Pastor Ulmer