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GLEANINGS FROM THE WORD Encountering an extraordinary God in ordinary life Issue # 157 June 03, 2001 FIGHTING THE HOOK   I enjoy fishing. That doesn’t comes as a surprise to our regular readers, but it may be news for some of you. I enjoy eating fish, but I’m not a real fan of cleaning them. I seldom eat the fish I’ve caught, preferring instead to catch and release. With catch and release fishing, the fish are there to be caught another day and I don’t have to worry about cleaning them. One thing I have noticed with catch and release is that no matter what species of fish I catch, or what size they are, they all hate it when you reach down to unhook them. They struggle and fight. They get tangled up worse. If I’m using a treble hook, sometimes they get hooked harder. If there were just some way to communicate with them, I’d tell them “Relax. It will go much easier and you’ll be free in a moment.” Of course I can’t tell them that and they fight their release all the way. Sometimes the fish seems to relax right up to the moment I go to finish unhooking it. Then it goes crazy and starts to fight all over again. They are like people in that regard. We get into a bind and we fight all the way. We thrash, we struggle, we complain and carry on. Yet if we just relaxed and gave the situation to God, we would be in far better shape. Sometimes we give our problems to God and seem to yield a little, but like the fish, we start fighting all over again the instant He moves to free us. We’re bound and determined to do it ourselves regardless of how painful it may be, or how much extra damage it causes. Paul was like that in his pre-conversion days. As Saul, he was zealous in persecuting Christians, in effect fighting God all the way. It wasn’t until he was literally blinded that he opened his eyes to the truth and quit fighting God. Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.                                                                      Acts 9:1-9 NIV   Once he yielded fully to God, Paul was used by God in unbelievable ways. Until nest time, may you learn to give it fully to God and trust Him to free you. God bless. Kevin Are you like a fish flopping on a hook? Struggling and fighting but unable to free yourself? Perhaps it is time you gave yourself over to Jesus to be set free. Email me and I’ll send you a few Bible verses that will show you why a relationship with Jesus is needed and a prayer that will make it possible. ©  2001 K.F. "Kevin" Corbin All Rights Reserved