It was 5 AM and I was standing on a beautiful beach in Mal Pais, Costa Rica. I was visiting some of my World Race leadership team for a week and Doug and I had been talking about fishing for months leading up to the trip. After a few days of work we finally had our chance.
As the sun slowly rose on the horizon we started casting our lines from the beach, an eager excitement in our spirit.
Fishing from the shore has some challenges. We were dealing with the constant crashing of the surf and a strong tide that brought small rocks along with each wave.
There were slippery rocks to navigate. I stayed away from these considering I was wearing a brace on my ankle, still recovering from torn ankle ligaments. My buddy Doug however wanted to get to the prime spots and his ambition lead him to take a tumble at one point. Even now as I type this I have a beautiful mental image of him sitting on a rock, waves crashing over him, fishing pole held high above the water and a goofy smile on his face.
For all the excitement our day began with, an hour in and I still had no fish. No results to show, my arm getting tired from the constant casting and reeling.
Can any of you relate to this in you spiritual lives?
So often we begin our walk with Christ, or a season of our life, with so much excitement and passion. Believing in our hearts that we are world changers and there are souls that we are going to go save.
Suddenly we find ourselves in a spot where we lose sight of the beauty of the situation God has us in and get frustrated with the mundane and lack of ‘results’. We forget to simply admire the sunrise and thank God for who He is, instead focusing on the fact we haven’t caught a fish yet.
In times of discouragement it’s easy to question if we are making an impact…should we keep pursuing the lost and hopeless? Is the path God currently called me to still worth pursuing with all my heart and efforts?
Back to Costa Rica…..over an hour in to my morning I stood admiring the beauty of where I was. My feet were cut and bleeding a little bit from the crashing rocks. I basically stood on one leg because of my bad ankle. My arms were sore from all of the casting.
And then I got my bite. I pulled in a 4 pound snapper and as Doug and I celebrated on the beach we knew we would be eating a fresh lunch that day.
There was nothing different about that cast. It was the same as the hundred before it, but it was worth it as I held my snapper in my hands. The struggles of the routine couldn’t compare to the jubilee of the catch.
Jesus literally called his disciples to turn from fishermen into fishers of men. If you have spent any amount of time in a church growing up you’ve heard a fair share of metaphors and stories…but on that beautiful beach in Costa Rica I was reminded of the beauty of the catch.
I was reminded that it’s ALL worth it.
The hard moments, the bumps and bruises, the times we fall, the times we feel nothing is happening, the times we are weary…it’s all worth it for His KINGDOM.
Nothing can compare to the celebration of someone coming to know salvation through Jesus Christ.
So I continue to ‘fish’. Through the crashing surf and the sharp rocks I will cast the news of Jesus….until the whole world knows.
