A Fishing Story

There I was on the dock fishing from millions and millions of gallons of water imprisoned within the banks of Bryan Lake in the state of Washington. My line was cast and it was time to remove the slack. I reeled in a little, then a little more. Hmmm. Feels like a fish on, albeit a small one. I continued to reel in. Soon, the weight appeared above the water. What? What in the world was dangling from my #4 hook? I blinked my eyes once, then twice. It was. Yes, it was... a pair of black sunglasses spinning as the swivel unwound the fishing line. Not only was it a pair of sunglasses, the name Oakley appeared in bright white lettering. That was only the beginning of the significance of my “catch”. I cleaned them off and tried them on. They were bent perfectly to fit my face, as, like most people, one ear is a tad higher than the other. I heard from the Lord instantly. “Don’t you think that if I can put those sunglasses on the end of your line, I can take care of all your needs no matter how big or how small?” After some research on line (not fishing), I discovered this particular style of Oakley sunglasses are worth over a hundred dollars. Naturally, I had to spread the “good news” of how God provides. I love it when he uses object lessons from His creation to illustrate a truth from his Word.

Today is my 38th birthday. Before you say, “Hmm, does not compute,” let me elaborate. 38 years ago I was Born Again, just like it says in John Chapter 3. I can say before that time I had become emotionally dull being dead in my trespasses and sins, Ephesians Chapter 2. I think I had moved beyond the ability to worry about anything. I just didn’t care anymore. After I became alive in Christ, my emotions became alive as well. With that new life, came the ability to worry. A definition of worry is: to feel uneasy or anxious; torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret (Websters Dictionary). You’ll notice worry is an action word or verb. It takes effort to worry.

What stands out to me in that definition is the word, torment. Why in the world would anyone in their right mind want to torment oneself? The only way we can be right minded is to be like minded with the Word of God and stand in a position of trusting what He says. God means it when he says he will provide all our needs, protect us, teach us, never leave us, guide us, counsel us, comfort us, etc..

As with the sunglasses, not only did they fit my face, they were no ordinary sunglasses, they were top of the line. Our Heavenly Father wants to give us the best. He does answer prayer. As we walk with him through the years, we learn to trust that ALL things are truly working for the good for our lives even though we may not know the reason for everything that happens. The key to that trust which has no room for worry, is His love for us. Something to note is that where worry is a verb, trust is a noun meaning: reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence (Websters Dictionary).

Love and trust are both nouns: PERSON, place or thing. Ponder the fact that God is Love. It takes work to worry, it takes rest to trust. As we abide in Love itself, trust becomes an outcome.