A couple of years ago they held one of those family fishing derbys at a local pond. I was too late to register, so I had to wait until 4:00 to take my kids to catch fish.
So we showed up at 4:00 with five happy kids, but it was so packed with families trying to catch fish, we literally had to walk 3/4 of the way around the pond to find an open spot on the shore. We walked past tired and sunburned people who had been sitting out in the heat all day long, most of whom had one or two small fish on a stringer. It wasn’t the best day at the pond for most of them.
Finally I found about 10 feet of open shoreline to squeeze into and get my kids fishing. All I had was one pole with a special lure tied to the end of the line. This lure is like trout kryptonite. It hammers the fish every place I try it.
I stood on the shore and called one of my kids over. Then I casted out, waited five seconds for it to sink, and started reeling. Bam! Fish on! I handed him the pole and he happily reeled it in. The people I had bullied my way in between weren’t impressed. If you want to tick people off, walk up where they are fishing and go ahead and catch one right out from under their nose.
I called the next kid, casted out, waited five seconds, and Bam! Fish on! He gleefully fought the fish to shore. The other kids who had been fishing all day began to crowd around us, while their irritated parents looked on.
I called the third kid over, but this time it took two casts to tie into a fish. As I handed the pole to my daughter, I overheard a disgusted woman remark in disbelief to her husband, “He’s got another one!”
Those people who had born the heat of the day weren’t happy that some jerk walked up and pulled three fish out of the same spot they had fished all afternoon. But I wasn’t done yet. I still had two more kids to get fish for. We weren’t there all of five minutes, yet we walked away with five fresh trout.
Lots of people try their hand at fishing, but if you want to actually catch fish, you need to use the right bait. If you want to enjoy success, you need to use what works.
Last month I talked to a young man who had been seeing a psychiatrist and going to secular counseling for drug use. He had been going for about 8 months, but he still had a lot of shame, guilt, and temptation to go back. The reasons he turned to drugs in the first place were still lurking inside him. His counsellors were trying to help him discover the answers to his problems within himself.
I reasoned with him that I didn’t know him, he didn’t know me, and that after I walked away we would probably never see each other again, and with that I challenged him that he could be as real and raw with me as he wanted.
After spending about a half hour with him, having some straight talk about what the Bible has to say, he abandoned all confidence in himself or in his own ability to change or make up for his wrongs. The he prayed, confessing his sins to God, trusting that the blood of Jesus would cover his sins, and surrendered his life to Christ. He knew his sin, shame, and guilt were gone, and was now ready to walk in a newness of life, with the Holy Spirit to empower him.
You could see that his countenance had completely changed. He experienced more relief, more change, and received more hope in a half hour encounter with Jesus than in 8 months of secular, godless counseling.
I’m not saying that psychology and counseling are completely useless. There is a certain amount of benefit in them. However, if we want to see real transformation in people’s lives, we need to use what actually works.
The cross, the blood of Jesus Christ, and being born of the Spirit is where the real power lies. That’s where we find forgiveness and peace with God.
Maybe you’ve been working and toiling hard at trying to make up for your past and clean up your life. Maybe you’ve been trying all sorts of methods to get rid of guilt, shame, depression, or fear. There are answers, and there is hope. Come to Jesus.
“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30