Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”
John 21:7
A widow and a widower married one another late in life. You can imagine the surprise when this seventy-six year old woman became pregnant and successfully delivered a beautiful baby boy. It was a miracle. Beyond once-in-a-lifetime, this was a once-in-history event.
A few months after the healthy baby was born, a news reporter stopped by to capture a photo of the family. He knocked on the door, and the elderly mother opened it. “Hi, I am here to take the photo the news station called about.”
“Why, yes,” replied the woman.
“Tell me about the experience,” the intrigued camera man asked.
She went on and on about the miracle, wonder, and beauty of this amazing gift of a baby. After about ten minutes of her story and still standing on the front porch, the news reporter suggested, “Well, shall we take a picture?”
“Sure, honey,” replied the lady. “But we have to wait until he cries, first.”
“Okay . . . May I ask why?” said the reporter.
“Well, I have forgotten where I placed him.”
This may seem like an odd story. It is a made-up story, but it reveals the point: God will supernaturally act in our lives, and sometimes we forget about it. We forget the amazing things He does for us. Jesus gave the disciples instructions, and they were pulling in the full net before they even realized it was Him. This is not the first time Jesus had given fishing lessons to the disciples. This same scenario played out in the beginning of their ministry. A miraculous catch was what first inspired Peter about Jesus. It was actually when he received the invitation to follow the Rabbi. One would think that that event, being such a profound moment in Peter’s life, would have come to mind every time he went fishing, especially when the instruction and event was repeated almost verbatim. But John had to tell Peter that it was Jesus.
It is often easy to forget the great moments in the onslaught of the present. We must learn to remember. We must let Jesus’ interventions in our lives shape the way we think. When we experience a supernatural provision from the Lord, we are to let that experience train the way we think. No matter how small the provision was, if we doubt His ability and desire to provide the next time we are in need, we have violated the trust of the relationship. We are not trusting in Him who has always been trustworthy.
Take time to remember the moments that God has performed His promises. Write them down and then metabolize them. Take from those events the nutrients that can be fuel to trust Him in the next event. Invite friends in your life who can help you recognize when Jesus is at work. The Scriptures teach that it is possible to actually limit God’s activity in our lives by failing to remember. David wrote, “ . . . and limited the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember His power: the day when He redeemed them from their enemy” (Psalm 78:41, 42).