Gone Fishin’
March 25, 2011
Right at the top of the list of activities I rarely engage in is fishing. I just don’t have any reason to go fishing. I don’t own a pole, a tackle box or lures, and probably if I were being honest, I don’t “own” the patience it requires to sit and wait on a fish to swim by and take my bait. However, despite the lack of my equipment and even my lack of desire to go fishing, I do know this: there’s more to fishing than just casually tossing out a worm impaled on a hook into some water.
Have you ever watched a “real” fisherman cast a line? It is a powerfully deliberate and fluid motion. With a flick of the wrist, the pole snaps back and out over the water the line sails until it lands exactly where he intended. This visual came to me recently when I read the verse “Cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you.” (Psalm 55:22) Just like a fisherman casting out his line with great intention, I wanted to do the same with the burden I was carrying. And just like the fishermen didn’t intend to bring back the hook in the same way he threw it out, I had no desire to reel my problem back in either. I knew where I wanted it to land (with the Lord – where else should I place it?) and I determined it would stay there.
But there’s another use of the word “cast” in the Bible and since I had the scene of the fisherman in my mind, when I read Psalm 50:17, it caused me to really stop and think.
“For you hate discipline and you cast My words behind you.”
Now there’s a striking visual and just to make sure, I looked up the word in the original language and the meanings are identical. To cast means to fling, to hurl or to throw. Read the verse again and let those words sink in to your mind and heart.
“For you hate discipline and you cast My words behind you.”
When we refuse the discipline of the Lord, we are deliberately throwing out His Word. But unlike the fisherman casting his line out over the water, we are hurling it behind us. Here’s a simple observation that’s certainly not profound nor is it rocket science: We can’t see what’s behind us. When we consciously fling God’s Word behind our backs, we are choosing NOT to look to Him for guidance, comfort, deliverance, or forgiveness. And since God is our light and salvation, this action will leave us staring into the darkness.
How about you today? Are you gazing intently into the Word of God and casting your burden into the reservoir of His mercy and grace or are you tossing His guidance behind your back in defiance and disdain?
“I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will never be shaken.” Psalm 16:8
Looking for more words? Read 1 Peter 5:5-9. Maybe you need to do some “casting” today either by casting your burden on the Lord or asking for forgiveness if you’ve put His word behind you. (CT)