There is a common term used among bass fishermen in the South that describes the hot, sultry days of summer when the bass become lethargic and are the hardest to catch. That term is “dog days”. The summer of 2011 has been especially dog worthy. Extreme heat, reduced rainfall, increased crop irrigation demands from lakes and ponds and resulting low water levels have all contributed to dog days on steroids. The big bass are stressed out, not active, and very, very hard to catch. It has been a real challenge!!!!
News Flash!!! Bass fishermen aren’t the only people to experience dog days. Businesses go through dog days also. Marriages go through dog days. Relationships go through dog days. The question is, how do we respond and react to the dog days?
As a hardcore bass fisherman, there are a few key things that I have learned over the years. Most importantly, you have to KEEP FISHING!!! As a matter of fact, you have to fish even harder! Better days are coming and if you just don’t quit, you will see a breakthrough. How do you think the disciples of Jesus felt after he was crucified on the cross? Do you think they were scared and wanted to quit? You bet they were! There is a famous sermon that has been preached many times over the years entitled “It’s Friday…but Sunday is Coming”. That sermon puts this situation in proper perspective for us today. Things looked bleak and hopeless for the disciples, but Sunday (resurrection day and eternal victory) was just around the corner. Sometimes, we all have a tendency to quit just before the victory.
We all have our dog days and we all have choices that we can make during these times. We can quit our businesses, quit our marriages, or quit on life if we don’t realize that Sunday is coming. I can’t tell you what to do in all your personal situations but I can tell you what I do as a bass fisherman, husband, and minister. I keep on fishing!!! I may try different approaches. I may seek out advice and try new techniques. But I will never quit and I will always stay thankful for just the opportunity to be a husband, father, minister, businessperson and fisherman. It is amazing what you can learn in the lean times, which will make you more accomplished and more fruitful in the bountiful seasons.
We encourage all of you today to stay faithful to your marriage, your family and your business. Sunday is coming!!! The only way you can lose is to quit. Jesus promised us He would never quit on us (Hebrews 13:5) so let’s take on that same no-quit attitude of loyalty and persistence and press on to the prize of the high calling.
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended (not all I should be yet): but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth (stretching forth, straining) unto those things which are before, I press (push on) toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14 KJV)
And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint. (Galatians 6:9 AMPV)
Ed Henderson
New Life Network, Inc.
www.newlifenetwork-org-staging.smwnm894-liquidwebsites.com
