Shark!

I’ll never forget this day back in 1975. It was one of the most anticipated movies of all time and my family decided to go and see it on the opening night in Nashville, Tennessee on our summer vacation. We were staying near the Cordell Hull Dam at the home of a dear friend of ours. The film was Jaws, a film directed by Steven Spielberg that made countless viewers afraid to go into the water. Of course we lived near South Padre Island and there were always sightings of sharks (well...hammerhead sharks...but nonetheless they were sharks!).

That night, as everyone was sleeping, I had a horrible nightmare. I had dreamt that the Cordell Hull Dam broke and all of the water behind the dam flooded Nashville and totally destroyed Smokey’s house. After the waters smashed everything to pieces I witnessed this huge Great White Shark eating all of my family members as we were swooshed around by the horrible currents of the water. One-by-one, first my brothers (this is another article for another day!), then my two sisters and then on to my parents—all of them, eaten by Jaws!

But the nightmare didn’t stop there. You see, after the Great White had eaten my entire family (interestingly enough there were no other people in the water, it was just my family) he turned toward me! This shark was going to eat and devour me! But before the shark started gnawing on me, my Dad woke me up from my nightmare. I was apparently screaming aloud in my sleep and was interrupting everyone else’s slumber except my own. My Dad stayed with me until I was calmed down and he took me around to everyone in my family so I could see that they were alright and they were resting peacefully.

Jaws may have been frightful to me, but nothing is more frightening than what the Apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter 5:8: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. The Great White Shark is lethal, but nothing is more lethal than the devil. But God gives us a way to stay safe!

With the Great White Shark it is better for you to just float around and not move or wear shiny jewelry or for you to agitate it. With the devil God says to us to be sober, be vigilant, that is, we are to be aware of his practices and his ways. The devil will always try to lead you astray, but by learning the ways of God and of His Word you will be able to defeat the enemy. Read what else Peter says in 1 Peter 5:9, Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. We’re not alone, Beloved! We have Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and then we have each other! Stand fast in the Lord and in His Word! Stand steady! Stand up against the wiles of the devil! Be sober! Be vigilant! Be in prayer!