Our Journey Through Proverbs chapter 5

"For your ways are in full view of the LORD, and He examines all your paths"
Proverbs 5:21

I live a couple miles from a small fishing lake.  The lake water is very cold, so the rainbow trout is firm and tasty.  I am not much of a fisherman, but once in a while I feel the need to drown a worm.  Last time I was at the lake fishing, the Elk were bugling and Bald Headed Eagles were competing with me for trout.  God did an amazing piece of work when He fashioned this beautiful mountain lake.  I have observed that once I have a trout on my line,  it will take off and run for the deep waters. Someday, someone will have to explain to me why we say that "fish run", but that is for another day. So my fish will continue to dive and run until it is exhausted.  Once it is exhausted from all its efforts, the fish is ready to be reeled in.  I often wonder if the fish believes it is outsmarting me with all its darting around.  I wonder if the fish thinks I will get distracted and forget to reel it in.  Or maybe the fish is an atheist of sorts and has decided that fishermen do not exist.

Our verse in Proverbs has a positive and a negative flavor.  If you are making decisions that God approves of, then you don't mind God looking over your shoulder and examining your life.  On the other hand, if you are selfish and shallow, then, self deception might be the way to go.  Like my fish, people that are rebellious to God's plan, try to outrun Him.  Or they try to stay in dark places, believing that God would never think to look for them in high weeds.  Perhaps the most sad scenario are people that fool themselves by simply denying that God exists (Psalm 14:1, Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”).

Perhaps I should have titled this blog, "The Parable of the Fish".  I can picture Jesus standing by the Sea of Galilee, watching the waves lap up against the sand.  Noticing the fishing boats jockeying for position in an effort to find the lucky spot for today's catch.  And with a gentle sweep of His hand toward the water, hearing Him say, "A man went out to catch a fish...."  Or maybe He did use this parable but it went into the "unrecorded" bin (John 21:25, "Jesus did many other things as well.  If everyone of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written."