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Friday, October 21, 2005
Deep Sea Fishing
My dad had one primary passion in his life that I'm aware of: Deep-sea fishing.
He would work hard in the steel mill all week in order to drive to the coast, some 4 hours from where we lived, in order to get out on a boat owned by a friend and spend his Saturdays and Sundays in the Gulf of Mexico.
And he was serious about sport fishing. It had to do with the fact that catching "food" fish like Grouper and Snapper pretty much got old to him quickly...so he was into catching difficult fish. Marlin in particular.
Anyway, one of the things that he had to learn in order to support his passion was to learn how to respect the sea. The weather reports were vital...not just on the coastal area but also two or three miles offshore. Not only at that time, but also during the times you would be out there. There were hourly radio updates to keep you informed of the latest information on tides, storms and swells. Things like that.
The reason: An 8-foot wave can wreck havoc on a 20-foot boat. If the storm were bad enough, you'd actually lose control of the boat and be at the mercy of whatever the sea threw at you. In effect, you'd just sit in the belly of the boat and let the storm do whatever it was going to do with your boat. You'd just be tossed back and forth.
That's the image of James 1: 5--8 (from The Message).
"If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who 'worry their prayers' are like wind-whipped waves. Don't think you're going to get anything from teh Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping your optionls open."
See, without wisdom, which is gained from persevering through trials...
...we're just like being at the mercy of the powerful sea.
Being tossed back and forth.
Powerless to control our circumstances. Letting our circumstances control us.
And that's what we do if we don't learn and grow.
The television ads control us. The influences of our friends control us. The ideals portrayed in movies controls us. The mindset of teachers controls us. The news media controls us. The television evangelists get control. The bad theologians in the world contol us. The rock stars control us. The athletes control us. The boyfriend or girlfriend get control...
I could go on and on but you get the point.
We get tossed back and forth if we don't glean wisdom.
And do you want wisdom?
All you gotta do is ask. God gave Solomon, David's son, one wish...and Solomon didn't choose money or fame or fortune or power or anything else the "sea of the world" threw at him. He asked for wisdom. And because that's what he chose, God made him the wisest person who ever lived...humanly speaking, of course.
God does indeed love to help.
And tomorrow, we'll look at specifically how we allow the world to get control of us...
But for today, what constitutes being truly wise? Why do you think the "sea of the world" isn't wise? Or is it? How do you think God gives you wisdom?
Brent 5:34 AM
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