Keep On Fishing!

…they caught nothing…  —John 21:3

After an entire night of fishing Peter and the other disciples did not catch a single fish.  They were about to pack it up their gear and quit when Jesus called to them from shore, “Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.”

Have you ever toiled for the Lord and felt you had little or nothing to show for it? Fear not! Jesus will reward your work for Him. His Word will not return void (Isa. 55:11).

William Carey worked seven years in India before he baptized his first convert.  While the number of actual people Carey actually won to Christ was relatively small, the number indirectly attributable to him is innumerable. America’s first foreign missionary, Adoniram Judson, labored seven years in Burma before seeing a soul saved. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Nott toiled for twenty-two years in Tahiti before they baptized their first convert on May 16, 1819. Allen Grinner traveled repeatedly to the islands of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego seeking win souls to Christ. He died of starvation without seeing one soul saved, but the South American Missionary Society he founded has been winning people to Christ for more than 150 years.

Christian, don’t quit fishing for souls. It may look like you’ve got empty nets now, but you’re doing more good than you may realize. You may only see the full results of your labor for Him when you get to heaven. It is our job to sow the seed, and God’s job to give the increase.

So, work in faith… lower your nets in obedience… and trust God for the catch!