I have not posted in a while due partly to technical difficulties and partly to a lack of words to share… For my first post to get back into things, I want to share something from a book that I have been reading called Overwhelmed: Winning the Way Against Worry by Perry Noble. I think we all struggle to some extent with worry and stress and anxiety, but for me this is a major issue. This book has challenged my thinking and the Lord has been speaking to me through it! I hope that someone else can find some encouragement as I attempt to paraphrase a little of what I’ve been learning…
In Overwhelmed, Noble brings up something very interesting from John 21. This is after Jesus was crucified. The disciples were at a loss as to what to do with themselves after their long awaited messiah and savior was brutally killed on the cross. They had thought that their messiah and God had failed them… Talk about disappointment. So their lives continued after the crucifixion, and they ended up going back to what they used to do… They went fishing (see John 21:3). There is nothing bad with fishing, but what is interesting in this story in John 21 is that, “they caught nothing.” Remember, a couple years before this when Jesus first called them to follow Him they had caught enough fish to break their nets! They had come to know Jesus, but failed to continue to believe in Him after He was crucified, and then they caught nothing.
What is the point here? Without Jesus, we will catch nothing. We can chase as many career goals as we wish, we can collect as many toys as we can, we can build the biggest house on the block, and we can win all of the trophies. However, without Jesus we will never have anything worth while. The disciples were so upset when Jesus was crucified because He was their friend, but also because He was supposed to deliver them from Roman rule and save them… But they were looking to Jesus to do it on their terms.
“Without Jesus, we will catch nothing. The world can only provide us with false hope and temporary satisfaction. True joy comes through an active, ongoing walk with Christ.” – Overwhelmed, Perry Noble
recklesslove316 