Down to the River

 

The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the guard: “Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. (Jeremiah 33:1-3 ESV).

 

Some years ago, when we were still living in Tennessee, Kyle and I along with two of my friends went on a fly-fishing trip a few hours away from our hometown. The trip was much anticipated, especially since I had never caught a Rainbow Trout on my fly rod before. I’d caught many other species of bream and bass, but never a Rainbow. As you can see from the picture, this was my day. The guide measured and released the big breeder trout. He informed me it was about 6 pounds! I was delighted and very proud to have caught it. Kyle was the photographer of this experience. While it is not the biggest fish, or trout, I have caught (I pulled a much bigger Rainbow out of the Kenai River in Alaska), it was the first.

Now, what in the world does that have to do with our reading, or Lent for that matter? Well, let me confess that before we waded into the bend of the river that day, I asked the Lord to give us some success. I especially wanted to see Kyle catch a big one. He was not as fortunate as I was, but it was a grand success for all of us. Your thoughts might be that to invoke the Lord on such a trivial matter is not very “Christian.” I couldn’t disagree more. The Scripture encourages us to pray, praise, and thank Him in all situations, not just when we’re in troubling times.

The truth is if we are too busy to pray, we are too busy. The Lenten Season is a time to slow our pace. Use the time to pray… about everything. I suppose I’m saying prayer doesn’t need a specific format or content. The Scriptural command "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17) is the directive that urges us on and the goal to which we aspire. In our reading the Lord informed Jeremiah that He answers such calls.

I would give you one caution. Be careful not to get caught in an avalanche of stuff, which makes the dubious claim, "I simply have to be done." I find the best conversations are those that are not scripted. We don’t really need a “list.” The reality is this: the one thing that needs to be done is God's grateful people need to speak faithfully and regularly to their gracious Lord. What better time could there be than this season that is taking us to the celebration of the Resurrection! Come on… let’s go down to the river for a spell!