Acting without the Lord’s leading - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2026

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.
John 21:3.

Acting without the Lord's leading
Seven disciples set out to fish on the lake. The Lord had not instructed them to do so. They were acting on Peter's initiative. Although some of them were experienced fishermen, their expedition proved a miserable failure: "they caught nothing". When they returned to dry land in the early morning, Jesus was standing on the shore. He asked them, "Children, have you any food?" They answered him, "No" (v. 5). This one word expressed their lack of success and their disappointment. Their effort had proved to be a disaster.

This incident is a valuable lesson for us. It can happen that we undertake things in our life without asking the Lord beforehand. We have an idea of our own or act on someone else's suggestion. Any activity without a specific instruction from the Lord will prove fruitless as far as faith is concerned.

If we act in self-will we shall have no benefit for ourselves. Instead of making spiritual progress by faith, we shall waste time and energy on things that the Lord hadn't in mind for us.

Whatever is done independently is of no blessing for others. We may have been enthusiastic, but nothing availed that benefited the spiritual life of our fellow believers.

Finally, such work does not bring the Lord the joy He desires. Because we act independently, no fruit for God proceeds from our undertaking.

Today's reading: Esther 6:1-14 · Proverbs 20:11-20