Are You Only Living 30% Of Your Life?

{Guest Devotional by Dean Cothill}

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. John 21:4-6 (NIV)

We live in a world where most of us hate Mondays.

Hey, we live in a world where just about all of us live for the weekends. 

You know, if we only live for the weekend, we end up only living around 30% of our lives?

That’s around 20 years of a 70 year life. 

That’s not living. I want - I need - so much more. 

I imagine it was a Monday when the disciples were out fishing and did not catch a single fish all night. Such a bad Monday, that they do not even recognize their closest friend standing on the shore; a friend with whom they have shared the last three years.

Not only do they not recognize Jesus but they don’t even recognize his voice. Sound familiar?

Monday has been so hard on them that they don’t even know until a miracle happens, and they catch lots and lots of fish that it’s Jesus telling them to do things differently, to throw their net on the other side. 

This makes me wonder how many times I've had one of those days? 

How many times Jesus has talking to me and I had no idea that it was him?

How often has Jesus been standing right there, having prepared a meal for me with fish and bread? 

How often have I missed Jesus because I was having a bad day? (<-- Tweet this)

This makes me want to experience moments where I throw my net in on the other side. 

We get so comfortable don't we? Taking the same route to work everyday. Using the same pens at the office. Speaking to the same people everyday. 

We totally understand where the phrase, “Same stuff. Different day.” comes from. Because for most of us it’s true.

Maybe Jesus is saying, “Start throwing your net on the other side and you'll start noticing me.”

Perhaps if you start doing things differently you’ll start to see that Jesus has prepared a meal for you - that he is calling your name from the shore - to come and sit with him.

May we come to know that Jesus is wishing and waiting for us to notice Him around every corner, even – maybe especially - on Monday morning.

Do you think Jesus is trying to get your attention to change something in your life? Ask the Lord to show you what you need to change to start noticing him round every corner.

{ABOUT THE AUTHOR OF THIS GUEST DEVOTIONAL}

Dean Cothill is a husband, father, teacher, pastor, coach, musician and sportsman. Find him on his blog: Songs, Psalms and other ideas or follow him on Twitter at @deancothill

Make sure you don’t miss a devotional by subscribing to have devotionals emailed to you or you can follow me on twitter and facebook for updates.