For those of you who don’t know me, I’ve been writing about fishing for 15 years or so now. I’ve written about my faith as a Christian for closer to 25 years, though not as publicly and not as often. And I rarely mix the two. Faith is a funny thing to talk about. Not funny “ha ha” so much as a peculiar subject to approach sometimes. As a southerner, we’re taught from an early age that it’s impolite to talk about three things: money, religion and politics. So often, we don’t.
But I believe we certainly should talk about our faith. As a Christian, I’m called to share my faith out of love for my fellow man and at least plant the seed of curiosity in someone’s heart. But sometimes, the conversation is hard to have. I don’t want to offend people. I don’t want to spark a philosophical debate. I don’t want to walk into a situation where someone has had a really hard life and then lack the empathy and compassion necessary to let them know that, even though I don’t know their particular pain, I know the one that can heal it.
But all of that is deeper than what I want to discuss today. Today, I simply want to make sure that each and every one of you realize that you are capable of faith. Some people just don’t believe they have it in them. Faith in something they cannot see, touch or feel is too strange of a concept to grasp. Many need to at least be able to experience something first in order to have faith in it. And occasionally, that happens. But for many, the faith must come first. And you are capable of it, each and every one of you who have ever picked up a fishing rod. And I’ll prove it.
Every cast is an act of faith.
Each time you pickup your rod and make a cast, you’re putting in a little effort to pursue something that you believe is out there, but you cannot see. Jesus said in John 20:29 “… blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” That is faith. That’s the faith that it took to make your first cast ever. And every cast after that until you caught your first fish, and then you had had an experience. That’s what grew your faith in fishing. That’s what you need when building your faith in Jesus, and what is sure to come in time once you show faith.
I have had several experiences throughout my life that make it impossible for me to question God’s existence, and yet still there is doubt sometimes. But that is just how it works. Even with proof, sometimes faith is hard to come by when times are hard. Similarly, I have caught a lot of fish over the course of my life, though there are certainly still days I spend on the water where I am fairly certain I’ll never get a bite again. Still though, I cast. I show faith. I press on. And with every cast and act of faith I get closer and closer to the next experience, rewarding my faithfulness and bolstering my faith moving forward.
Let me be clear though, that as a follower of Jesus, life doesn’t simply become easy. There will still be troubles in this life. Jesus makes that very clear in John 16:33. But He also offers up one of the most encouraging statements in the Bible when in the same verse He says, “But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
My faith in Jesus is my anchor in life’s storms. If you don’t have that anchor and want it, He’s right there waiting for you. Feel free to message me and I’ll be glad to talk to you more about it. Or talk to someone else in your life who knows Jesus. He wants to be that anchor for you. He wants to help you bare the burden. And all it takes is a little faith and a cast.
“Cast your cares on the Lord, and He will sustain you.” – Psalm 55:22
