June 18, 2020 – Click here to listen
Yesterday I went sword fishing and hooked up with a big one at 1600 feet deep. The fish fought like the dickens and at one point had pulled out nearly a half mile of line. I would gain on him and then he would take off like a raging bull screaming line off the reel. I stood in the hot sun fighting the fish for 2 ½ hours. The seas were not calm, and it was all my boat driver crew member could do to keep the boat from crossing over the fishing line in the 4-7-foot seas. Finally I got the fish up to the side of the boat and suddenly the line went limp. We did nothing wrong, but the big fish somehow just got off and swam away.
I was so disgusted I felt like throwing up. I just stood there in a semi-daze. At times like this many anglers say stupid things like: “Well at least we are out on the beautiful ocean with blue skies and a nice breeze, what a gorgeous day;” or “this beats working any day of the week.” I’m standing their steaming Gr-r-r-r-r I can’t believe that fish got off.
Then one of the crew members said, “That will just make the next one we catch and actually land all the sweeter.” By then I was sitting in a chair drinking some water trying to gain back some energy and I thought about what he’d said. He was right. If everything we did in life resulted in a victory it would soon become boring. And deep down inside it isn’t about the fish it is the battle that counts
Vince Lombardi, perhaps the greatest football coach ever, had plenty to say about having the will to win and it means a lot to me, not just in fishing but in my spiritual life, family life, careers and hobbies.
The spirit, the will to win and the will to excel – these are the things that endure and these are the qualities that are so much more important than any of the events that occasion them.”
“There’s only one way to succeed in anything, and that is to give it everything. I do, and I demand that my players do.”
“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will.”
“You never win a game unless you beat the guy in front of you. The score on the board doesn’t mean a thing. That’s for the fans. You’ve got to win the war with the man in front of you. You’ve got to get your man.”
“If you’ll not settle for anything less than your best, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish in your lives.”
I used to have a boxing coach who warned me almost every day that I had to learn to “roll with the punch.” This meant That I had to let those blows slide off me and keep moving. If I let my guard down and got knocked down, I had to get back up and shake it off. Lombardi kind of summed up his take on the contest and our drive to compete and win:
To the winner, there is 100-percent elation, 100-percent fun, 100-percent laughter; and yet the only thing left to the loser is resolution and determination.”
Our nation is taking some hits right now, but we should show some courage and fight on. Anyone who thinks they are going to lose will lose. We must put our faith in God and realize that we are all winners when we follow His leadership.
Coach Lombardi regarding God:
“I believe in God.”
“When we place our dependence in God, we are unencumbered, and we have no worry. In fact, we may even be reckless, insofar as our part in the production is concerned. This confidence, this sureness of action, is both contagious and an aid to the perfect action. The rest is in the hands of God – and this is the same God, gentlemen, who has won all His battles up to now.”
“There are three things that are important to every man in this locker room. His God, his family, and the Green Bay Packers. In that order.”
Hang in there my friends and don’t quit or give up on God or this country. Regarding my fishing trip I assure you I will return to the ocean to do battle with an adversary that is tough as nails as soon as possible. I am determined not to quit. The same holds true with all that is going on in the crazy times in which we live. It is impossible to lose if you don’t quit.
If you feel like just giving up, you are missing out on what God has to offer. It is important to keep fighting for what is good and right. Know that you are not alone and know that we are in the hands of God- He will provide us with strength when we need it.
2 Chronicles 15:7
But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.