A Good Catch

I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth. — Job 19:25

Tournament fishermen depend on sponsors. Without sponsorship, most if not all tournament anglers cannot compete. I know I couldn’t. We have had some situations where very well-known pros have quit the game after losing a couple of major sponsors. They simply couldn’t pay the bills to keep competing.

Tip: A Tokyo Rig is an exceptional “back of the boat” search bait.

Have you ever been in a tough financial situation like that?

Job was, and worse. He lost everything but his wife and his life. All his children, all wealth, all associates, all health, all possessions, all gone. Total desperation! How would you react? Would you blame someone? Blame God? We can see in today’s verse that at Job’s most dreadful moment, his faith seemed the greatest. God was his Redeemer, and he stood on that belief.

We will have trials. We will have pain. But we know that our Redeemer lives!

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Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. — Psalm 37:4

Fishermen look at Bass Pro Shops like a big candy store. I’ve got to admit, it’s true for me as well. My buddy Johnny Morris, founder of Bass Pro, is just as bad as you and me. Johnny has already bought all that neat hunting and fishing stuff in there. He already owns it.

You know the thing I really like about today’s scripture? It says God will give you the desires of your heart. We don’t have to earn them or work for them. All we need to do is delight in the Lord, honor Him, study His Word, praise Him, put Him first. This is easy. This is great! How do we know when a blessing is from God? It comes unexpectedly and seems to drop out of Heaven. When God’s time is right, He gives us the desires of our hearts.

Tip: I like to fish with a 7’3” medium-heavy Jimmy Houston Blaze Series rod when fishing with a Whopper Plopper.

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You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You. — Psalm 118:28

Tip: Search out isolated targets to fish — stumps, rocks, docks, duck blinds, laydowns, and so on.

Everybody has their favorite fish. I guess the most popular in America is crappie. Many love bass, and there are lots of catfishermen out there. Trout, stripers, white bass, wipers, walleye, muskie, gar; every species has its die-hard followers. Me, I love ’em all!

But when we love something too much — like power, wealth, or popularity — it can become like worshiping another god. We must be careful to give our praise to the only God, the God who hung the moon and stars, and individually call Him “my God.” More importantly, He calls us His children. And He loves us with a love that never fades or ends. God is working in our lives every day and for our good. But we praise God for who He is and not for what He does for us. We exalt God because He is worthy of exaltation and worship.

Excerpted with permission from Catch a Better Life by Jimmy Houston, copyright Jimmy Houston.

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Your Turn

Trials and pain, blessings and ease, no matter what comes our way, God is still our God! He deserves our praise and worship because He is so good to us! Come share your thoughts on Jimmy’s devotion today. We would love to hear from you! ~ Devotionals Daily