The One That Got Away!
The one that got away!
This is not a dating story! It is a fishing story that God used to teach me a lesson about the Christian life. A couple weeks ago I went fishing with some friends on Sugar Creek. We were wading the creek and looking for deep pockets of water, because that’s where the fish pool up. We were fishing for Small Mouth Bass using tube jigs, I had experienced some success with these in the past and it was a lot of fun trying to reel them in.
I would get an experience on this day that I had not had before, as I was walking ahead of the guys because of my familiarity with the creek I cast toward a large pool of deep water near the south bank, and Bam! It took my line and ran with it. My heart began to palpitate and I knew it was a big fish. I hollered back at the guys, and said, their biting! I knew I couldn’t horse this fish in, I was using a small hook and didn’t have heavy line on my reel.
I would need to play him and wear him out. As Fritz was approaching me the fish came out of the water and you could clearly see he was a 3-4 pound smally measuring at least 20-22 inches. That is a huge small mouth and I really wanted to land him. Brother James had gotten close enough now that he could see him swirling in the water, so at least I had some witnesses for this fish story.
I was reeling him toward me and letting him slow down, hoping I could grab him with my hand because I didn’t have a net, of all times to be without a net. He was within 3 feet of me and I slowly reeled him closer. I then went to bend over to grab him with my right hand with the pole in my left, Splash! He came out of the water with a vengeance and broke loose, all I could do is watch. Ugh!!! Gone! I looked at the guys and said, did you see that fish? They said, Oh yeah!
I don’t lose a lot of fish but the Lord had a lesson for me with this one. Three words describe the lesson learned:
- Fight– That fish escaped because the fish did not quit fighting. Many people lose to the devil, the world, and the flesh because they quit fighting. We are called to fight the good fight. The devil will do what he can to keep you from shining for Jesus, keep fighting my friend! – Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life… I Timothy 6:12 2. Feed– That fish was able to fight because that fish had fed well. It didn’t get that big without effort. Job said, I have esteemed his words more than my necessary food– Job 23:12. He was able to endure and escape spiritual destruction because he fed well on God’s word. Our Lord said, Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Father– Matthew 4:4. Are you feeding? 3. Follow– That fish escaped and is alive today because it followed its life source. It didn’t jump on land after it shook loose and I certainly did not see him jump from land into the water before hooking him. If we are going to survive as Christians we better be following our life source, Jesus Christ. He is our life and strength, without me you can do nothing, said our Lord- John 15:5
He followed, fed, and was able to fight with enough strength to escape death. These things did not remove the temptation from him but they did help him escape the hook.
