Have you ever gone fishing? I have only gone a couple of times. The whole concept of fishing doesn’t line up with my personality. First of all, you put a live worm on a hook. That involves touching the worm and then ramming a hook through it to secure it on the line, neither of which I will do. Then you cast the line in the area fish are known to swim in to entice them to go after your worm. The whole cast and release concept doesn’t seem to travel from my brain to my hand. I either get the line tangled up or I forget to push the button and the hook doesn’t move from the end of the rod.
Fishermen use live bait because it is more enticing to the fish. It looks like what fish eat, so it lures them in for the catch. Fishermen also like it quiet. Apparently, fish don’t like a lot of noise, thus the biggest reason I don’t go fishing. I tend to scare the fish away. Quiet is not one of my greatest features. Needless to say, the fish are fairly safe with me around.
Whether you like to fish or not, a lot can be learned by examining the fishing process. You see, the enemy likes to go fishing too. He isn’t fishing for bass or brim. He is fishing for souls. We need to be aware of his ways so we can avoid his hook. 1 Peter 5:8 says “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
The enemy is many things, but stupid isn’t one of them. He knows if he dropped down in front of you in a red suit and a pitch fork you’d run. He is far more cunning with his ways. Just like a fisherman, he makes his bait attractive to us. Then he casts it right where we’re known to go in order to capture our attention and lure us away from safety.
The enemy loves to isolate his victims. He gets them away from the hustle and bustle of the crowd and comes in for the kill. There is more than noise in numbers; there is safety. Being in Christian fellowship brings accountability with it [Ecclesiastes 4:9; Hebrews 10:25]. Proverbs 27:17 reminds us “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” When we avoid Christian fellowship, we are setting ourselves up as a prime target for the enemy. We need to make sure we are plugged in with other believers through prayer and the study of the Word to be wise. Ephesians 6:10-18 reminds us our battle isn’t against flesh and blood and we need to be prepared.
Every fisherman who spends any time fishing has at least one story of the fish that got away. James 4:7 tells us to resist the devil and he will flee. Sometimes we resist by running as fast and as hard as we can in the opposite direction to safety. If we focus our eyes on Jesus and run to Him in times of temptation or attack, we will never have to run far.