IT IS THE LORD!
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. John 21:7 NIV
It is only a person who knows someone well enough, who can attest of him with such surety. The context of this statement begins in the Gospel according to John, chapter 20, where the resurrected Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene at the tomb, the disciples in a locked room, and again to the doubting disciple, Thomas. John's Gospel continues the resurrection narrative in chapter 21, that Jesus again appeared to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, when they had gone fishing, (perhaps to kill some boredom, in their confused state). A man who addressed them as "friends" came and stood by the shore and asked if they had caught some fish. When they said no, he told them what to do "throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." This resulted in a bumper catch that was soo heavy to haul into the boat.
Is this instruction to cast their net in a particular way familiar? Does this provision of a miraculous catch sound familiar? (Check Luke 5:1- 11) Do we also remember who said, "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." John 15:15 NIV
There is a difference in knowing about and knowing someone. We easily recognize people we know very well and call our friends by their voice, scents, and the peculiar ways they approach task, instruct, interact, act and react. In the same way, it didn't take long for the disciple whom Jesus loved to recognize that such an extraordinary and Miraculous catch, could only happen by the power of His master. In acknowledgement of this, without any shadow of doubt, he said to Peter; "It is the Lord!" (John 21;7).
Dear Friends in Christ, Do we hear the Lord when he speaks to us? Do we easily recognize His voice, and acknowledge His deeds? The Lord has not changed. He still speaks, through His word and the promptings of the Holy Spirit. When the Lord comes through for us in our perplexities and anxieties, may we acknowledge His miraculous interventions, and testify that "this is the making of Lord?"
Another act worth noting in our Bible narrative above is the attitude of Peter. Pure trust! He didn't argue or need anything to jog his mind. At the mention of the master, Peter just jumped into action! Peter knew the deeds of the master so well that he didn't need to put any pieces together.
How well do we know the master? Does our knowledge and acceptance of him move us into action whenever we hear His name or His words being spoken? Do we know Him enough to tell when He acts in our situations? We can only know the Lord enough if we forge a closer relationship with him, as the disciples did. This can be done by communing with Him as friend with friend on a daily basis. We can know Him better if we spend time with Him through His words, and by constantly acknowledging His presence with us through the Holy Spirit.
Dear Friend, how well do you know the Lord?? Have we yet experienced him? I am not sure how you will respond, but;
I, Naa, unequivocally acknowledge that I have experienced the Lord in divine dimensions that prompts my declaration that: the Lord Jesus as my personal Savior, Brother and Friend. My prophet, Priest and King. My Lord, my Life, my Way, and my End. My Strength, Refuge, and my EVER-PRESENT HELP. MY GREAT PROVIDER, to whom I call when in distress.
This is the passion that drives me to say to myself each day: HARK, MY SOUL, IT IS THE LORD! 'TIS THY SAVIOUR, HEAR HIS VOICE.
The Methodist hymn 411; 1
The name we still acknowledge that burst our bonds in sunder,
and we loudly sing, our conquering king, in songs of joy and wonder.
In every day’s deliverance, Our Jesus we discover;
‘Tis He, ‘tis He that smote the sea, And led us safely over!
*#inspirationalNaa* ✨