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Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore.  It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 

John 21:11

There is an interesting lesson in this verse for me.

Jesus, as the Sovereign Lord, was obviously in full control of the whole operation at the ‘Sea of Tiberias’ (Galilee).  Seasoned fisherman, John, must have thought that the ‘153 large fish’, under normal circumstances, would have been too much for the fabric of the net, otherwise he would not have made this comment!  But Jesus, instead of limiting the catch to the capacity of the net, made sure that the overstretched net would NOT break!

In my many years of serving the Lord, I have often felt my limited resources being ‘overstretched’ by what the Lord was asking me to do.  But this historical account has encouraged me to pray, not for tasks equal to my resources, but for ‘resources’ to match the task that is to be done.  The trouble is, stepping out with this prayer in my heart usually requires more faith and trust than I, in my weakness, can muster, so it is good for me to have his reminder that my faithful God and Risen Saviour will never push me without supplying the resources to cope!  The Apostle Paul puts it like this: “ I can do everything through him who gives me strength. … And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:13, 19).