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Making the Message Meaningful to Me
"Gone Fishing… Dealing With Disappointment"
Psalm 30:1-12; 1 Peter 5:6-11; John 21:1-14

Disappointments are God's Appointments
Three elements make discouragement a pervasive problem:
1. It's universal - everyone has experienced discouragement.
2. It's recurring - being discouraged once doesn't give you immunity.
3. It's highly contagious - discouragement spreads by casual contact.

Seven Ways to Deal With Disappointment John 21:1-14
1. Don't bail when we're bummed out. When feeling blue, Peter wanted to go back to the things he used to do. But when he did, it didn't work.

2. We can do nothing apart from Christ. They were professional fishermen, with nothing. "apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5

3. Obedience is always the right thing to do. When we obey, Jesus is honored; out of obedience God reveals Himself to us.

4. Blessings are closer than we think. The difference between an empty net and a full one was the width of the boat! Obey & God sends blessings.

5. Do whatever it takes to get close to Jesus. As soon as Peter heard it was Jesus he jumped into the water (v.7); Peter has to get to Jesus.

6. Everything we accomplish is by His grace. The disciples knew they hadn't done anything to catch the fish; it was all by the grace of the Lord.

7. Jesus longs to rebuild what is broken. The fishermen needed to be restored; that could happen by spending time with Jesus (vv. 12-13).