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Oh, Me, of Little Faith!

By August 12, 2014August 30th, 2022Devotional

As I think you already know, I used to love to fish, but frankly, I was never very good at it and so more than two decades ago, I kind of gave it up other than on very rare occasions. That is, until we got to the new place and I found that I enjoy heading into the back yard and just spending 15 minutes or so each evening relaxing with a rod in my hand. I’m sure that part of the issue is that it’s really convenient and with all the other stuff on my plate, I have a small window of opportunity to just relax and kick back for a little while from time to time.

Well, as is customary for me, I am frustrated with the lack of progress I am making in picking up my old fishing skills which, by the way, were never that good to begin with. So you can imagine that I would like to be a world class fisherman in the next several days or so; and that’s not the way this stuff usually works. In fact, I have been thinking about adding equipment to my “stash” and that’s probably the wrong way to look at all this. I should get better at using the stuff that I already have in my possession. So, I need to take some lessons – that will be the next thing up…

Anyway, my frustration grew during the week-end as I watched a seventeen year old catch fish after fish using the kind of spinning equipment I gave up eons ago – when I started to fly fish. And since I started that journey, I have always wondered whether I will get any good or not as time goes on. But leave it to my friends at the local Orvis fly shop. They have challenged me to stay with it and eventually I will get the hang of the fly rod in my hand. They even provided me with a few flies to try, even though I used to tie all my own stuff. Then again, it has been years since I have done this and I wish it was like riding a bicycle – you know, you never forget how… but it is a long, arduous road back to where I was – and I’m not at all near the goal.

So, to cut to the chase, I decided to persevere and went out in the back yard after Janet and I returned from a dinner out. And, less that 30 minutes later I had the largest fish of my life on the line – and what fun it was! In fact, my new young friend, Jackson, ran down to help me as there was no way that I was going to get this thing out of the lake on dry land. So he peeled off his shoes and socks, jumped off the side of the seawall into the lake and wrestled the thing to shore. We finally got it out – a huge catfish – I have never caught one of them before! And Jackson was as excited as I was. Neither one of us could believe it. Thank goodness it didn’t break the rod I was using – although I was worried about that!

The bottom line here is that I need to have faith that all in good time the right things will happen. The verse for tonight is from Matthew 8:26 (KJV) when the disciples were afraid and Jesus reminded them that all they needed was faith and that was the necessary ingredient to accomplish all things that are in accordance with the will of God. We are told, “Matt. 8:26, “And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.”

My encouragement this evening is that there will be times in your life when you will need an extra measure of faith. I know that I do! My prayer is that it is important to continue to pray that our will is in agreement with the will of the Father as far as our lives are concerned. You’ll be surprised how often your prayers are answered… Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace… 

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