Standing on the dock and pulling in a fish brought a huge smile to my face. The weather was perfect in Ormond Beach that day.   It had been a long time since I had gone fishing, and as soon as I reeled in that fish, the old feeling of how much I enjoyed fishing returned.

Growing up, I might have fished once as a child.  My dad fished and hunted but never took any of his kids with him.  My husband’s family owned a farm, and a few years after Gaylon and I were married, my father-in-law had a pond dug on his land.  After the pond was filled with water, Papa Benton had it stocked with catfish.  When Gaylon and I would visit, we would fish at the pond and man was it fun!  We reeled in so many fish!  We would catch them, clean them, and Grandma Benton would cook them the same day.  Talk about fresh fish on the dinner plate!  We loved those times.

Over the years, we went less and less to fish in the pond.  Other things grabbed our attention when we visited.  Fishing lost its priority in our lives.   

“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.” –  Matthew 4:18-20

When Jesus met Peter and Andrew, Jesus immediately voiced His priority.  If you follow me, I am going to teach you to fish for men.   Peter and Andrew left their nets and made fishing for people a priority. 

In the Gospels and in the book of Acts, the resurrected Christ gave His disciples instructions and once again we see the priority of His heart.  Jesus told them to go and make disciples, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  In Acts, He said that the power of the Holy Spirit resident within them, would give them the ability to be witnesses everywhere they went.  The priority of Heaven has always been that we would be fishers of men. 

Just like fishing in lakes and rivers lost priority in my life, I have found that the priority of fishing for the souls of men is a priority that is so easily lost.  We get busy with life.  We even get busy with church life. We praise. We pray.  We serve.  While those things are important, they are not Heaven’s first priority.  God has truly convicted me about being a good Christian, but not doing much fishing. 

While in Panama City Beach earlier this year, I went fishing early in the morning and also at night.  We got off the comfortable sofa in our air-conditioned condo.  We took the proper equipment and put in the effort to go where the fish were.  On neither of those fishing expeditions did we catch a single fish, yet there was still joy in fishing.   We will never be fishers of men unless we go where the fish are. You won’t catch fish unless you leave your pew or house.  In order to be fishers of men, we must be intentional and search for lost friends, family, neighbors, and those with whom we have various kinds of encounters. 

Our job isn’t to catch fish but to go fishing. Catching people is the work of God. We are simply a tool in His hands.  You can go fishing without catching fish, but you cannot catch fish without going fishing. When you stand before God, He probably will not ask how many fish you caught. I do wonder if He will ask how many times we went fishing. 

One thing is for sure, you can’t catch fish if you don’t go fishing.

While sitting at a busy intersection in Florida, I was shocked at what I saw.  Across the lane from where I was, there was chaos, screaming, and yelling.  An elderly gentleman was in his car and a young woman was pounding on his window and yelling for him to get out of car.  While watching this incident unfold, I actually spoke out loud even though I was alone in the car.  “Why is she being so hateful to that man.  Road rage is totally out of control.  When I get through this red light, I’m going over there!” 

Everything changed in the next few minutes.  I noticed others gathering around the car.  Someone opened the door and pulled the man out and moved him away from the vehicle.  Then, I saw smoke billowing out from under the car.   This was not a case of road rage. This was a case of saving a man’s life. The story had a totally different ending than what I had written in my mind.

When we find ourselves in situations that seem dire, it is easy to immediately go to the end of the story – the end that we have determined in our own minds.  BUT GOD!  God has the remarkable power to change the ending of the story. 

The Bible has quite a few stories that illustrate for us that “obvious” conclusions can change when God is involved.  Let’s look at a very familiar story that painted a picture of obvious defeat as its conclusion.

Our story is found in 1 Samuel 17. The Israelite army faced a foe that would surely bring defeat.  Goliath stood more than nine feet tall, wore armor that was about one hundred twenty-five pounds, and wielded a huge sword which was tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed fifteen pounds. For forty days this giant of a man taunted the people of God day and night.  The king and David’s brothers told him to go home for he had no chance to defeat Goliath.   As David walked into that situation, all those watching thought, “Pull the curtain, this opera is over!”  The conclusion is already etched in stone!   David with just a sling, some stones, and the power of God demolished this man who was probably twice the size of David. 

What situation is taunting you day and night and has been for a while?   Do you hear its voice taunting you over and over, and it appears that the situation will bring a dark conclusion? The adversary of your soul wants you to assume the worst possible conclusion.  He wants you to resign to inevitable defeat, throw up your hands, and give up. 

Take heart, child of God!  The same God that guided a stone to slay a giant can change the ending of your story.   You walk with the same God who made a highway through the Red Sea when the presumed conclusion was defeat.  You serve the same God that watched as the enemy taunted the followers of Jesus as He hung on a cross. They heard the taunting, “It is over!”   I have a feeling that God flashed a smile in heaven and said, “Oh, it is over alright!” 

Rejoice, child of God!  If you belong to God and have surrendered your life to Him, He is the author of your story, not you.  You serve a God who can rewrite endings.  Take the pen out of the devil’s hand and put it back in God’s hand.  

“…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. “ – Hebrews 12:2.   “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:6

My husband Gaylon was a pastor for thirty-three years, and he dearly loved God’s people.  He was there for them through thick and thin.  Eventually, Gaylon became a chaplain, and though no longer a pastor, as a chaplain he was still very deeply involved in the lives of others. 

A woman who we will call “Ellie” came to our church on a Sunday morning and after the message, Gaylon led her in prayer, and she received Jesus as Savior.  Ellie was a visitor in town and would only be in our church that morning.  God had set up a divine appointment for her.   Since she was a one-time visitor, in all honesty, we did not remember her through the years.

One day we unexpectedly received a package from someone we did not know.  It was from Ellie.   She was able to track down where we were.  (Note:  there are not very many Gaylon Bentons in the world.)    She sent us some lovely items and a heartfelt letter thanking Gaylon for leading her to Jesus.   After more than twenty-five years she was still living a Christian life.   Hanging in my hallway, I have one of the pictures that Ellie sent us.  When my eye catches it, I am reminded of the great privilege of being used by God to bring life-change to another person. 

So often we hear about role models and heroes.  Throwing someone a lifeline when they are drowning is the best kind of hero one can be.  Christianity should not be passive.   You do not have to walk through fire or jump through hoops to be someone’s hero.  Just throw them a lifeline.    Sometimes that lifeline will be in the form of sharing the Gospel.  It might be in the area of a financial hardship. Other times, a person might be drowning in a sea of loneliness or a sea of discouragement.  There are so many ways to be a lifeline to people. 

I am so thankful for those who threw me a lifeline at times when I was drowning:

1. Margarita Poulos threw me the ultimate lifeline when she saw a dirty, sad little girl and introduced her to the Bible and to Jesus Christ.
2. Iverna Tompkins threw me a lifeline when I was a young, disillusioned pastor’s wife. Through her teachings, conversations, and visits with her, she taught me to grow strong in the Lord.  I was blessed with a great mentor.
3. A woman who on a Sunday morning at church noticed the ragged and torn shoes I was wearing.  Kids at school laughed at my shoes often. I was just a child, but she met me in the church yard and slipped money into my hand.  She simply said, “God wants you to have a new pair of shoes.”  That day was the beginning of my understanding that God noticed me and cared about me.
4. An anonymous hero who threw me the lifeline of college tuition when I was being forced to drop out of my Christian college due to lack of funds.  I do not know who paid that money, but it was truly a lifesaver.  I continued in my education and met my future husband the next year.
5. Gaylon Benton who was patient and loving to me during those early years of our marriage when I was an absolute mess.  I brought so much pain and baggage with me.  He truly was a hero that was used by God in my healing process.

I could continue listing people along the way who threw me lifelines.  There have been so many.   1 Peter 4:10 states, “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving on another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

Who threw you a lifeline along the way, a lifeline that was life-changing?  Who had an impact on your life when it was needed?  An even greater question, “Who can you throw a lifeline to this week?”  There are drowning people all around us.  Let God use you to be someone’s hero. 

Dr. Charles Stanley recently stepped into the presence of the God he loved.   I loved to hear Dr. Stanley preach for he never wavered from truth.  I watched his life celebration service, and it was obvious he left behind a tremendous legacy.  As I watched the celebration, I was struck by the men and women of God who paid tribute to Dr. Stanley. David Jeremiah, Charles Swindoll, Tony Evans, Jim Cymbala, and Franklin Graham were among those giving honor to the life of Charles Stanley.  I was moved as I realized that all of these leaders were in their seventies and eighties.   Each of them had served God for decades and were still actively serving God. They will each leave us great riches someday. Legacy.

Our desire, while on the earth, should be to give off a sweet fragrance that demonstrates who our precious Lord is.  Legacy can leave a sweet fragrance of God long after we are gone. 

^“So, Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean? Tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.” – Joshua 4:4-7

Joshua chapter four shares a wonderful story about legacy.   God had miraculously helped His people to cross over a tumultuous river Jordan.  As the last ones crossed, God had them take twelve stones  from the riverbed of the Jordan and use them to build a memorial on the other side.  They were to use these “memory” stones to pass down the story to the younger generations.  God wanted every generation to hear the stories of who God is and what He has done.  Legacy.

Over the years, I have written about the work of God in my life. When I was about to celebrate my sixtieth birthday, I decided to recall places where I journeyed with God and saw His hand at work.  For a month leading up to that birthday, I wrote stories of God’s hand on each decade of my life.  Via blog, I have also recorded many stories of times in which the Lord’s power was demonstrated in my life and ministry.  Legacy.

What “stones” have you recorded so that the younger generations will know what God has done in your life to bring you to this point?  Have you written them down so that your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, brothers, and sisters will see how God impacted your life?  Today is the day to start.  Go back and record when you met Jesus.  How did that change you?  Record times when God miraculously healed you or provided financial resources when times were desperate.  Legacy.

Gaylon and I both are hopeful that we can leave our children some sort of inheritance.  It will be small, but we hope to be able to do that.  However, we are more concerned that we leave our children with a legacy.   We want them to remember parents who walked with God and had stories to prove it!   Go ahead and bless your children with an inheritance, but more importantly, bless them with a legacy.  Write it down!  Start today.