Jesus is Near ... in the Morning We'll See

Just as the day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach. (John 21:4)

Read: John 21:1-9; Luke 5:1-7; John 14:18, 17:24; Ps. 30:5; Heb. 13:5

What Is God Saying?

The crucifixion is over. Christ was buried. The chapter is closed. His disciples waited until the third out in the bottom of the ninth inning, and then, Peter, always the first to express his feelings, always the first to get moving, said, ‘I’m going fishing. That's my job and how better can I take my mind off this sad turn of events?’ It was a failure there, too. They toiled all night and caught nothing. Things were bad! As dawn brightened the sky to the East, the shoreline to the North became distinguishable from the water, and then what was that? A form, not a post, not a shadow, not a piece of driftwood but a form, a person, a person with a voice. It said, ‘Throw your net on the right side of the boat.’ John, who seldom spoke until he was sure, was the first to realize it. ‘Peter, it is the Lord!’ After the long and frustrating night, Jesus was there, waiting on the beach. Glad reunion. Hope restored. Life is worth living again.

How Does This Apply To Us?

We have all had sleepless nights. Fears are exaggerated. Problems mount up. Wakeful nights can be so long and so lonely. We know the problem. They knew it too. Their hope was at its lowest ebb and all their accustomed labor had proved useless. They found little comfort in their activity and no fish in their nets. But they found Jesus waiting on the beach at daybreak. He was already there. He had words that changed the fruitless night into a miracle of plenty. So He can deal with despondency and pointless labor in our lives. He can do it and He will. He is standing on the shore at daybreak. Trust in that through the night. ‘Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning’ (Ps. 30:5).

Pray With Me

Lord, I have known sleepless nights. I have known times when labor seemed all in vain. I know what it means to go through motions that seem pointless. Fishing in empty waters, I have become discouraged. Discouraged, I have grown tired, but I have never known a night so long and so dark that it did not, at last, yield to dawn.

When such nights come, O Lord, teach me to wait on You. May I have the faith of the psalmist who sang, ‘My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning.’ May I have the reward of Peter, who, just as day was breaking, saw Jesus standing on the beach. Waiting for the Lord, let me discover He is waiting for me. After the darkness of night, beyond all restless waves, and through the morning haze, He will be there, always dependable and patiently there. Just as day was breaking. Lord, when I become aware of Your constant presence, that is the breaking of day even in the middle of the night. To be aware of Your presence, O Sun of righteousness is to live in perpetual day. The fears and fruitless labors of doubt's night are only mine when I take my eyes away from the reality of Your risen glory. Let my life be forever lived on the margin of dawn. I would always be looking toward Jesus. Simply and abundantly I will be blessed with the joy of His presence. When Jesus stood on the beach, He was waiting for those He loved to come to Him. He is waiting for me. At daybreak, I come.

In the name of Him who gives us the dew-spangled freshness and the rain-washed fragrance of God's ‘Good morning.’ Amen.

Moving On In The Life of Prayer

Prayer is coming to Jesus in the assurance that He is waiting for us. He is waiting to bless us with encouragement and instruction as He did for those who worked all night in vain. Our prayer may be out of a trial when it is nighttime in our souls. Fear stalks like animated shadows. Discouragement weighs our spirits. Doubt surrounds us as an impenetrable fog. Nevertheless, on the beach, Jesus is waiting. Whatever time it is, in prayer, the day is already breaking. With the coming of daybreak, Jesus is there. When Jesus is there, daybreak has already come. We can pray at any time. With the Lord, it is always the break of day.