Joe and Rudy loved to go fishing. There was nothing they liked to do better than to row out in the bay and spend all day catching fish. This particular day was no different than any other, and the two friends packed some food in their boat and along with their gear rowed out to the reef which was a good distance from the shore. All day long the two men caught fish after fish and threw them in their boat.
It was late in the afternoon and time to quit. The men packed away their gear and started the long row back to the harbor. Now, because of all the fish, their boat was much lower down in the water than it was when they had left that morning. After they had been rowing for a while they noticed something slicing through the water, coming toward them from the ocean. Oh no! It couldn’t be! But it was... a shark’s dorsal fin, heading straight for their rowboat. Then they saw another... and another... and another! Each one was circling, circling, circling round and round their little boat, gradually closing in on the two frightened men. They could not row any faster and they just did not know what to do. “Let’s throw them some of the fish,” one of them suggested. “Maybe that’ll satisfy their hunger.” And so they began throwing their day’s work out to feed the hungry creatures that surrounded their boat.
Sometimes we are like these two men, trying to fight off the attacks of our worst enemy, Satan, by using our own ideas. The Bible says in James 4:77Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7), “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” But we can only do that through the power of the Lord Jesus. We are no match for Satan in our own strength.
The day’s catch of fish was gone, but the sharks still were very close to the boat, and Joe and Rudy were terrified. Suddenly a shark shot out of the water and tore an oar from the oarlock! Now the two men were unable to row, and they realized that they were totally helpless to do anything to get out of their difficulty.
One of the men waved frantically toward shore, hoping to attract attention. But all they received was a friendly wave back from someone who recognized the boat.
Now the sharks were closing in for the kill. One of the creatures arched out of the water, and as it dropped back into the water, its jaw caught on the side of the boat ripping a piece out of the wooden hull. Unfortunately for the shark it cut its mouth on the edge of the torn boat and began to bleed. Suddenly there was a mass of boiling water beside the two fishermen as the rest of the sharks, sensing blood in the water, attacked the injured fish. In moments the shark was totally eaten!
As the two men realized that they were at the mercy of these deadly creatures, they fell on their knees in their boat and cried to God to save them. In their desperate need they promised God that if He saved them out of this, they would serve Him for the rest of their lives.
There are some phrases in Psalms 107 that describe the exact situation of our two friends. “Their soul is melted because of trouble.... and are at their wit’s end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and He bringeth them out of their distresses.” 10:26-28. The Lord often chooses to put His creatures into really difficult situations in order to make them turn to Him.
And so God, who holds our very breath in His hand, was watching over Joe and Rudy. Looking up, the two terrified friends again saw more fins heading their way. But no, these were not shark fins! Their path through the water was different. Here was nothing but the hand of the Lord reaching out to save two repentant sinners. Dolphins, one of the few things that sharks are afraid of, were heading toward this troubled spot in the bay. It seemed as if the sharks quickly decided that being right there at that moment was not a good idea, and they left the boat and headed for the open sea. Not one shark stayed behind!
With thankful hearts Rudy and Joe limped their way home with their damaged boat and one oar. They both kept their promise to God and now serve Him instead of spending their time on things that don’t really matter.
ML-12/16/1984