NEVER VERY FAR AWAY

“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

In 1895, a former slave by the name of Booker T. Washington gave what later came to be known as the Atlanta Compromise speech. He used the following illustration: “A ship lost at sea for many days suddenly sighted a friendly vessel. From the mast of the unfortunate vessel was seen a signal, ‘Water, water; we die of thirst!’ The answer from the friendly vessel at once came back, ‘Cast down your bucket where you are.’ A second time the signal, ‘Water, water; send us water!’ ran up from the distressed vessel, and was answered, ‘Cast down your bucket where you are.’ The captain of the distressed vessel, at last heeding the injunction, cast down his bucket, and it came up full of fresh, sparkling water from the mouth of the Amazon River.” Using this story, Washington encouraged his audience to take what they had in front of them and make “friends in every manly way of the people of all races by whom we are surrounded.” His words stressed cooperation and helped to establish him as the leading black spokesmen of his time, eventually giving him credibility to be an advisor to several Presidents.

Washington’s story reminded me of another boat at sea. Its inhabitants were also struggling but not because they needed water. They were located on the Sea of Galilee in a small craft filled with experienced fisherman who spent the entire night with no catching success (John 21:3). These inhabitants were already in a depressed mood because of the horrific events leading to, and culminating in, the recent death of their friend Jesus. Several of His closest disciples were in that boat doing what they knew best . . . fishing. Early the next morning they were headed to land, as a voice called to them from the shore asking if they had any fish. It was difficult to see who was calling to them, and they reluctantly admitted that they had not caught a single fish all night long. The voice called back: “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” What possible difference could it make to put the net in on the right side instead of the left where they have been? But for some unknown reason – they unquestioningly took out the nets and threw them into the water on the other side of their boat. Scripture tells us that “When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish” (John 21:6). They are stunned by what has happened when it suddenly became evident who had been calling to them: “Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord’” (John 21:7).

Years ago during the Super Bowl, FedEx ran a commercial that spoofed the movie Castaway. In it, actor Tom Hanks played a FedEx worker whose company plane went down, stranding him on a desert island for years. Looking like the disheveled Hanks in the movie, the FedEx employee approaches the front of a suburban home, package in hand. When the lady of the house comes to the door, he explains that he survived five years on a deserted island. During that whole time, he safeguarded the package in order to deliver it to her. She gives a simple, “Thank you,” but he is curious about its contents. Therefore, he poses this question . . . “If I may ask, what was in that package after all?” She opens it and they check out what’s inside. Her comments: “Oh, nothing really. Just a satellite telephone, a global positioning device, a compass, a water purifier, and some seeds.” Like the contents in this package, the resources for growth and strength are accessible to every Christian who will take advantage of them.

While most of us expend a lot of time and energy looking around for the next best thing, we often miss that precious gem which is available to us right now. For you see, it is when we come to the end of us that we will find the beginning of God. There He will meet us, right when we seemingly have exhausted all of our resources. “For the LORD God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The LORD will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right” (Psalm 84:11). So, the next time you find yourself in desperate need – just lower your bucket or cast your net. You may be delightfully surprised to realize that the very thing you required was never very far away.

REFLECTION: How often do you find yourself seeking some other place or circumstance to make everything better? Is your lack of faith preventing God from showing His power through your storm? Consider a time when your personal success was followed only after an act of submission to God.

A NEW LOOKUP  DEVOTION IS UPLOADED EACH WEEK. THE NEXT WEEKLY POSTING WILL BE ON SAT., MARCH 30, 2019. COMMENTS ARE WELCOMED.

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