We'd been at it for 10 minutes and missed more than a handful of times. It was enough to well up some feelings of anger and pride in me. I didn't like it. I'll teach 'em a lesson. I'll show 'em who's the boss. You know we're talking about bluegill right? Not big ones, the small variety. Pond size. 3-4 inches tops.
You see, Lori and I had taken the kids to a local campground, and there is a channel that comes into the campground from a lake. The channel forms an island in the campground. The water is shallow - lots of weeds, and you can see the small bluegill swimming around all over the place. My oldest son - Russell - and I had watched some other kids in the campground try to catch them the day before with jig heads and a great assortment of tackle. One of the kids had a bag of frozen shrimp on a hook. We stood out on the bridge about 4 feet from the hook and watched the fish eat the shrimp, one after another, right off the hook. One of the kids was even throwing a crank bait that was the same size as some of the fish he was trying to catch. Unfortunately we hadn't brought our fishing poles - but good thing it was a local campground. I could swing by the house on the way home from work the next day to satisfy my oldest son's need to catch some of these cunning, elusive panfish that none of the other kids could catch. We had goal - and dad had a plan.
This entire battle against the bluegill brought a spiritual truth into the light for me that day. See - my problem wasn't trying to figure out how to hook the largest fish in the pond. We were going after the smallest fish in the pond - as far as I was concerned - these were the only fish in the pond. We needed to know who we were up against - and what their tactic was. The scriptures tell us that we need to do this same thing when dealing with Satan. Paul tells the reader in 2 Corinthians to extend forgiveness 'in order that Satan may not outwit us' . Unfortunately he is cunning and a great schemer. To put it plainly - he's smart. A little harsh to compare a pint sized bluegill to the father of lies? Maybe so, but in concept I believe this to be true. We need to have a plan to combat the evil one - much like we needed a plan to go after these small fish.
in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
2 Corinthians 2:11
If we jump over to Ephesians 6, in verses 10 thru 20; the Word tells us to 'stand against the devil's schemes' (v11) - it gives us the perfect plan to face the devil. We put on the whole armor of God. (v13) It really stands out to me now that this armor isn't to battle the people and things we are having difficulty with - it is to combat Satan (v12). However, getting decked out in this armor is only the first step. In verses 18,19 and 20 it tells us what to do in each verse. Pray, pray, and pray. You see, only through prayer will God reveal to us the schemes of the devil and how to combat it. Only through prayer, can we ask our Savior for protection over ourselves and our household. Only through prayer, will we be ready when darkness attacks. Through prayer - we have the power to drive out darkness - and stand on the hope of the Gospel. In prayer - our plan to combat the evil one is complete.
So back to the small army of fish - 10 minutes in - and we hadn't caught a thing. 3 worms had already been stolen and every cast - our hooks were being hammered. These tiny freshwater fish were on us like 8 pounds piranhas on an amazon river. Yet, every time we tried to set a hook - we missed. You see - our #6 hooks were fine most places. But here - in this pond - against the little fish - they weren't the right hook. However, when I went to grab the fishing poles - I stopped in at the bait store and grabbed us a pack of #10 hooks. These hooks were small. In the 11th minute of our showdown with these miniature panfish - I tied on the smaller hooks to the first of the poles. My brother-in-law and nephew were with us and before I got the second hook tied on; we had reeled in 2 of the tiny trophy's we were going after. The boys' smiles were starting to get big. We got all the poles changed to the smaller hooks - and we spent the next 2 hours just reeling in fish and the boys had success over the rest of the trip. The plan had worked. No - I don't think these bite sized bluegills were the forces of evil - but they did show me the importance of knowing the adversary's battle plan and how to fight back. I hope you and I both consider who our battle is really against. I declare we put on the whole armor or God - and get prayed up. For good measure, buy some #10 hooks for the tackle box.
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