LET’S GO FISHING
If you know me, you know I love to fish. Why you ask?
Is it the peace, beauty, and both seeing and experiencing God’s creation first hand? Yes.
Is it the thrill and challenge of feeling the nibble or thump, and landing a big fish? Yes.
Is it because I got to spend valuable one-on-one time with my dad growing up? Yes
I could go on all day why I love to fish. As much as I love catching a two plus pound Crappie, it does not scratch the surface of the joy I receive when hooking a soul for my Heavenly Daddy.
“Follow me and I will make you fishers of men”. These words in Matthew 4:19, Jesus said to the fishermen who later became His three best friends on earth. He offered this opportunity just after the biggest catch of their lives. They had fished all night and caught nothing. Getting shutout for a good fisherman is a real kick in the teeth. I know exactly how they felt that morning.
“Why don’t you try the other side of the boat?” says a rabbi from the shore. Nothing worse than someone who does not fish telling you how to catch a fish. Yet, when Simon Peter, James, and John obeyed the command of the man, their nets broke with the impossible catch of a lifetime.
Just last week I was fishing in my Kayak with a pole in both hands jigging for Crappie, because of the recent rain the creek was very muddy bringing out the catfish. At the same time, I get big catfish on both poles. I almost lost one of the poles as the big fish both took off spinning my kayak around like a fidget spinner to my dismay knocking my net out of the kayak. I loved the rush of excitement, but helplessly I watched my net sink. I wonder if it was the same feeling the future disciples of Jesus felt as their nets began to break with so many fish.
My drags were squealing as the big cats fought to get the new found hooks out of their mouths. I could not let go of either pole to try to catch one of the cats, or I would lose the other pole. Now I had no net to land the big cat anyway since my net had sunk to the bottom of the muddy creek. Fate made the decision for me as one of my lines snapped leaving only one big cat to try and catch before he broke my line as well.
My goal was to catch a four-pound state record crappie that day, not a ten-pound catfish, but the challenge of getting the catfish to the boat, so I could retrieve my jig, was definitely a worthy adventure. What if we have the same lack of desire to catch the fish our Heavenly Daddy desires us to catch? Could we be walking right past the fish every day that we should be going after for Him?
My experience was one to remember, but what the disciples experienced that day was not from this world. It was a miracle of such great proportion, that these fishermen immediately left their boats and their first love to follow Love Himself, Jesus, and become fishers of men.
As fun as it is to catch a fish, it is equally frustrating to hook a big fish, only to experience it breaking your line. When that fish you have been waiting for all your life surfaces, all you can think about is not letting the big fish get away before landing it in your net. What if we had half that passion to fish and land souls for God?
Another one of the reasons I loved to fish growing up was the one on one time I got to spend with my dad. Just me and him doing something we both loved. More than that, it was one of the best ways my dad showed me how much he loved me. The fact that he took the time after a hard days work to take me, to show me how to catch a fish, and to have the patience (well he actually didn’t have much of that lol) to help me when I got hung up.
One of the most cherished things I have heard my dad say was that I had finally become as good of a fisherman as he was. I promise you will never regret when you take the time from your busy schedule to spend one on one time with your Heavenly Daddy. You will cherish this time even more as He demonstrates His love for you by teaching you how to fish. Unlike most of our dads, He has incomparable patience and forgiveness as we get hung up all the time doing our own thing. Don’t let the things of the world and the enemy steal all your time and focus, choose instead to give and focus the greatest and most valuable part of your day to spend one on one with your heavenly father. I promise you, you will never regret that decision.
To be a good fisherman, you must have both patience, drive, and stick-to-itiveness. It’s not optional, you simply can’t become great without being able to wait for a bite. You have to be ready to set the hook at all times. You can buy the top of the line live scope equipment and see the actually see the fish right below your boat, but if you are not willing to wait for the bite, then you will fall short of your prize.
Waiting is mentioned often in the Bible. There are actually three meaning of “waiting” in the Hebrew. The really like “qavah”, which means to wait with eager expectation, ready at all times. One definition of “qavah: is to wait for as to bind together as a braid. The invention of braided fishing line has helped many fishermen keep from losing that big fish. Who is that big fish God has placed in your life that He is asking you right now to catch for Him? God loves all of His fish equally they are all big in His sight. He actually loves the least, last, and the lost so much, leaving the 99 to catch the one.
As we spend time waiting expectantly on the Lord for guidance and help in catching His fish, our hearts begin to beat in the same rhythm with His Spirit. It did not take long for God to use the word “qavah” on His Word. In Genesis 1:9, the waters followed God’s command and they waited together. Most translations use the word gathered, but the word is waited. The idea was they waited for God’s plan to go into action.
In verse 10 most translations stick with “gathered”, which is a better rendering of the meaning of this completely different Hebrew word. This particular word comes from the root word “mikveh“, and it means a collection or hopeful gathering. So the waters waited together in one place and God called the collection of water “seas”.
What were the waters waiting for? In verse 20 God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures”. So right out of the gate, God made fish for us to catch. Later He sent his Son to guide us as we follow Him in being fishers of men. The most valuable catch of all!
A few other meanings of the word “wait” in the Bible are yachal (an expectant, hopeful wait), chuwl (writhing, an anxious longing), and chakah (a long lasting desperate wait). These words are translated in a variety of ways: waited, looked, hoped, expected… and translators play very loosely with them, which gives some cause for confusion. While waiting “qavah” with the Lord, each strand’s strength is synergistically braided together forming an unbreakable bond with our Savior! A transfer of strength to and from each other. We far get the better end of that deal!
Combining all the Hebrew meanings of waiting on the Lord, you come up with a something like this. Quietly waiting with a calm strong trust longing for His presence, eagerly expecting Him, for you know He will come and knowing as He does, you and He will experience oneness, braiding together as your hearts and lives become more entwined. If you want to become a great fisher of men, then you have to learn to wait like this! God clearly shared His desire was for us to go into all the world and fish for men.
What truly makes this special is that our Heavenly Daddy is actually is waiting as well. He waits at the door asking us to knock. He waits asking us to seek with all our heart, so that He can join us on our fishing trip.
I will bring a staggering statistic back up one more time. 96 percent of self-proclaimed Christians have never caught a fish (a soul).
What part of “follow me and I will make you fishers of men” have we all missed? If we are men and women after His heart, then we would become focused on fishing for souls for our Savior.
Let’s go fishing today, tomorrow, and every day until Jesus returns to see what we have in our live well, eternal live well that is!