The story narrated in John 21:3-12 contains some vital lessons for those who desire not to live in failure and frustration. From this story, we discover that our Lord Jesus Christ can choose to be humorous sometimes. Asking a group of frustrated fishermen whether they had food was a use of humor from the Lord in order to change the gloomy atmosphere of failure that had enveloped the disciples. As a gesture of gratitude for being of great service to me, I once gave a small gift to a young man to pass on to his children at home. Unknown to me, this young man had no child since he got married. The Lord turned the gift into a prophetic tool, because by the time I was visiting that country the following year, the miracle child this young man had been waiting for had come. I decree that God will spice up your life with pleasant humor today in Jesus’ Name. When the Lord asked the disciples whether they had caught anything, He was also teasing them with His question because they were no longer supposed to be in the fishing business. You will recall that in Luke 5:10, He had already said to Peter, in the presence of some of these disciples that from that moment he would be catching men and not fish. Peter and his team failed because they were operating on the wrong side of their destiny.

It would not be out of place to be puzzled by Jesus’ instruction to his disciples in john 21:6, when He had said “Cast out the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find”. This instruction should be seen as symbolic, because there was nothing at the other side of the ship. Immediately the disciples cast their net on the right side as instructed, they caught a multitude of fish. Beloved, when you operate on the wrong side of life, you are bound to get nothing out of it. The Lord’s side is the right side of life. He said in John 14:6:
“…l am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
He is still leading men to the right side of life today through His word and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, for you to continually stand on the right side of life, you must be addicted to the study of the Bible and be sure to listen to the Holy Spirit’s voice, guiding and leading you into all truth (John 16:13). However, having experienced the right side of life, it would be disastrous to abandon it for the wrong side of self-will. Jesus committed the work of the ministry to Simon Peter, but he and his team went fishing instead. What did they get out of their efforts? Nothing! Nevertheless, the compassionate Master went ahead to prepare a delicious breakfast for His errant disciples (John 21:9). There is no form of lack on the Lord’s side. Beloved, I appeal to you to come to the Lord’s side in perfect obedience to His word today, and failure will become alien to you and your generation.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.