John 21:3
“Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.”
Have you ever had something not turn out in your Christian life the way you thought it would? The disciples certainly faced disappointment when Jesus didn’t set up His kingdom as they thought He would. They were consumed with the fact that Jesus had come to set up His kingdom on Earth, but they were highly disappointed when He was crucified because it didn’t work into their design of what they thought should be done. What did they do when they were disappointed? The verse above shows us when it says, “Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing…” At the first sign of disappointment, they went back to the old life.
You are going to face disappointment in your Christian life; there is no way to avoid it. There are going to be times when you have high hopes that God is going to do something, and He doesn’t do it according to your plans. It is what you do at this first sign of disappointment that can determine what God is going to continue doing through your life. The verse above teaches us several lessons as to what we should do at the first sign of disappointment.
First, recognize that God doesn’t have to work according to your plans. God is not obligated to do what you think He should do. He is God, and He knows what is best for you and your life. The sooner you accept that God has His plan for your life, and His plan is better, the sooner you will get over your disappointment. Don’t hold God hostage to your plans; His foreknowledge and providence is always right.
Second, don’t quit what is right. Sadly, the disciples went back to fishing at the first sign of disappointment. There was nothing wrong with fishing, but it was more than that, they were going back to their old life. My friend, the old life didn’t satisfy you in the past, why do you think it will satisfy now that you have been disappointed? When disappointment sets in, don’t let the lure of the old life pull you back.
Third, don’t discourage others with your disappointment. Disappointment is like a disease if you don’t learn to control your emotions and words. Peter pulled the rest of the disciples into his disappointing actions, when he should have kept it to himself and brought his disappointment to God. Instead of discouraging others with your disappointment, you should talk to God about it because He is the only one who can change your situation. If you discourage others, they may never recover from it, even if you do. When disappointment happens, keep it to yourself and let your release be the closet of prayer.
Fourth, keep doing right, Jesus will show up. Verse 4 says, “But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore…” It would have been better had Jesus caught the disciples doing right instead of going back to the old life. Christian, morning is going to come, and Jesus will stand at the shore of your life. The question is, how will He catch you? Will He catch you running back to the old life, or will He catch you continuing to do right? Your desire should be that He catches you doing right.
Disappointment is going to happen in life. Don’t let the disappointment drive you back to the old life, but keep your hope in the fact that morning will come, and Jesus will show up. When He shows up, let Him find you doing what is right.