“Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’
They said to him, ‘We are going with you also.’
They went out and immediately got into the boat,
and that night they caught nothing.”
John 21:3

These disciples of Jesus were fishermen. They had been fishing here on the Sea of Galilee for generations. They knew the waters well, this was their area of expertise, but for all their labor …they hadn’t caught anything on this night.

Are you walking in the area of the expertise God has prepared you for? Are you doing everything you know how to do, but without much success? Watch what brought them success on a huge scale:

Then Jesus came along:

vs 6:
“And he said to them,
‘Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’
So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in
because of the multitude of fish.”

God has placed within each believer all the gifts and talents the believer needs to be successful. But that success depends on the Lord. You can work to exhaustion just as these disciples did, yet reap little for all your labor. They worked all night and caught nothing – but when the Lord came to them, he directed them to do what WILL succeed, and having done it, the results were so great that they could hardly contain it.

vs 6:
“So they cast, AND NOW they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.”

And that’s the point. For anything to succeed, it has to be under the guidance and direction of the Lord.

“He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit,
for without me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5

“…without me you can do nothing…”

The pride of man will motivate him to plug on and on, believing that the harder he works the more he’ll produce. But he misses the key: “Without me you can do …NOTHING.”

If you want to succeed, bring your gifts and talents and present them to the Lord. Acknowledge the fact that your efforts will not produce much of enduring value, and surrender your work or ministry to his sovereign control. Place it all in his hands, no questions asked. Bring to him the thanksgiving due him for all he has invested in you, and pray for guidance. Having done that, be ready to change things if he so directs you, and as in the passage above, he often will.

“COMMIT your works to the Lord,
and your thoughts will be ESTABLISHED.”
Proverbs 16:3

The bottom line is that the Lord who put within you the gifts and talents you have – is the only one who can guide you into success in using them. Maintain an attitude of gratitude always, and ever be ready to follow his guidance in using it. And be careful to follow his directions.

He may tell you to throw your net on the other side of the boat.

Pray with me:
Father I’ve given it my best, but have reaped little. So now I realize that it is the pride within that convinces me that it all depends on me. Well …obviously not. Help me to overcome pride, it’s the hardest thing to do, but I realize it’s the one factor that will keep me from being successful. I surrender, Lord. I bring to you all that you have invested in me, and I lay it all before you. I put my trust, my faith, in you. I remove the crown from my heart and replace it on yours. I wait now for your directions knowing that that is the only way. I finally get it, Lord. I surrender joyfully because I trust you.