First Baptist Church of Beltsville

Finding Peace with God on the Hilltop of Beltsville

While on Vacation

September 1, 2011

While we were on vacation, I knew that one activity for the children HAD to be on the agenda: fishing at Nana and Poppy’s lake. The children started begging to fish as soon as they saw the lake on the drive in, and they did not stop until we went out the next morning. Unfortunately, we caught nothing that first morning and decided to come back in the evening when the sun was setting.

At dusk we set out to a dock on the other side of the lake and began getting our lines together. I could see the apprehension on Selah’s face because of the 2 frustrating hours that morning of not catching anything; and I could see the lack of belief on Micah’s art because he could not remember catching anything the previous summer. This is where a bit of trust had to come into play.

Had they seen some fish swimming in the lake earlier in the day? Yes, they had, some of them large. Could they see other physical evidence that pointed to the possibility of catching fish? Yes, they could see the proper bait, they could see fishing poles rigged correctly, and they could see a lake before them. But, they had to exercise a measure of trust in dropping their lines into the (now) inky-black waters of the lake at night.

In matters of the Christian life, can we see some evidences of a productive experience? Yes, we can see the Lord working in other’s lives; maybe we can remember the times when the Lord produced fruit in our life. But, do we exercise a measure of trust each time we cast our lines into the murky, dark waters of life each day? Yes! It is called faith! "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible." - (Hebrews 11:1-3 NKJV)