Alive - by Dave Smith

PAUSE AND PONDER
If you are currently in a situation where you are
experiencing failure, or just feel stuck and need a
breakthrough, take the opportunity to turn to Jesus.
2. WE MUST RESPOND TO HIS
INSTRUCTIONS
This can be hard. This is in part due to our natural human
independence: we like to do things our way! It’s also because we
don’t have Jesus physically present, speaking to us with an audible
voice, so we can sometimes struggle to discern if it truly is him
speaking to us and what he’s saying. This passage gives us lots of
encouragement, though.
From the outset, we see that Jesus initiated the conversation: ‘He
called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No”, they
answered’ (v5). The word for ‘friends’ here can be translated literally
as ‘children’ or ‘lads’ – a term of great endearment and affection.
Jesus questioned them about the fish, not because he didn’t know the
answer, but rather because of his desire to engage them (and us) in
conversation.
Interestingly, the disciples didn’t seem to be offended by this
question from a ‘stranger’, but, even more remarkably, they acted on
his suggestion. Maybe it was the memory of the previous miracle,
perhaps there was something compelling about the way the stranger
spoke or maybe they were just desperate and willing to try anything!
The fact is that they acted, with stunning results as, ‘they were
unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish’ (v6).
What’s not clear is how the fish got there: whether they were already