John 21:3-7  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. But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?”

They answered Him, “No.”

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.

Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.

This event happened after Jesus had risen from the dead. The apostles went fishing and caught nothing again. This had happened before.

Why was Jesus so specific about the right side of the boat? Weren’t there fish on the left side also? What difference does it make which side of the boat you fish on?

Deuteronomy 8:3 says, “…that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.”

Jesus uses this same verse in Matthew 4:4 and Luke 4:4 when He is tempted by the devil to turn the stones into bread after His 40 day fast in the wilderness.

The scripture says ‘every word’. That’s why the right side of the boat is important; EVERY WORD is important!

We live in a society that pays no attention to its own words or the words of others. Success wasn’t found on the right side of the boat because it was the right side of the boat; success happened because the mouth of God spoke to men who obeyed what He said.

This is our discipline, to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. He is that specific and this story is the example of that. The God Who created the universe and every creature and process by which all things grow and work in harmony together is very precise.

God has wisdom and plans to impart to us…but we must listen! He wants our success. He is for us! And He has the answers for us.