Guard the Pond

Guard the Pond

When we moved into our home, we inherited two small backyard ponds—one for koi and the other filled with beautiful goldfish. They quickly became one of our favorite places to sit and enjoy God's creation. There was something peaceful about watching the fish glide effortlessly through the water.

Then winter came.

One afternoon, I looked out the window and noticed a great blue crane standing motionless beside the pond. Patiently, he waited for the perfect opportunity to snatch a fish and fly away with his prize. Thankfully, I spotted him before he caught one and hurried outside, waving my arms until he took flight.

Determined to protect our fish, my husband bought bird netting—the same kind we use over our blueberry bushes to keep birds from eating the fruit. We carefully stretched it across both ponds, securing it tightly around the edges. Year after year, whenever the crane returned, we covered the ponds and kept our fish safe.

Until this year.

Once again, we saw the crane lurking nearby, but life got busy. We kept saying we needed to put the net back over the ponds, but we never got around to it. One day we looked outside just in time to see the crane flying away—with one of our fish hanging from his beak.

Frustrated, we rushed outside, grabbed the netting, and quickly spread it over the ponds.

A few mornings later, I glanced out the window and there he was again, standing beside the pond as though he owned the place.

"Stupid crane! Get away from my pond!" I shouted through the glass, as if he could hear me. When I opened the back door, he calmly looked in my direction before lazily flying away.

I walked over to inspect the pond and immediately saw the problem.

Although the net was covering the ponds, several sections had pulled away from the edges, leaving wide openings where the crane could easily step in. In our frustration and haste, we had laid the net over the pond but failed to secure it properly. We had left an opening for the predator.

At first, I wanted to blame everything on the crane.

"Stupid crane," I muttered again.

But as I stood there, the Lord gently redirected my thoughts.

The crane was simply doing what cranes do.

The greater problem wasn't the predator—it was our neglect. Had we taken a few moments each day to make sure the net was secure, the crane would never have had access to our fish.

Today, every fish is gone.

The crane got exactly what he wanted. He came, caused destruction, and disappeared.

I know it may sound silly to be heartbroken over fish, but standing beside that empty pond, I couldn't help but think about my own spiritual life.

How often do we allow small gaps in our walk with God?

The enemy doesn't usually attack when we're alert and standing guard. He waits patiently for moments of complacency. He watches for the places where we've become distracted, careless, or too busy to notice that our spiritual protection has begun to slip.

Peter warned us about this very thing:

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."
—1 Peter 5:8 (KJV)

As Christians, we don't often wake up one morning and intentionally decide to drift away from God.

Instead, it happens little by little.

We become busy with work, family, ministry, responsibilities, or even good things. Before long, our personal relationship with Jesus begins to take second place. We still attend church. We still serve. We still know the right things to say. But the quiet moments in His presence become fewer and farther between.

David understood the importance of guarding his heart with God's Word:

"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."
—Psalm 119:11 (KJV)

Our spiritual "net" isn't built by simply going through religious motions. It's strengthened as we spend time in God's Word, pray, listen for His voice, worship Him, and allow Him to renew our minds each day.

Just as we fed our fish and cleaned the pond, we also needed to protect them.

Feeding them wasn't enough.

Cleaning the water wasn't enough.

Without guarding them, eventually there would be no fish left to feed.

Jesus warned us about the enemy's purpose:

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."
—John 10:10 (KJV)

The enemy has never changed his strategy. He still comes to steal our peace, destroy our joy, weaken our faith, and pull us away from intimacy with Christ.

This isn't about earning God's favor through works. Many people exhaust themselves doing ministry while quietly neglecting their relationship with the One they are serving.

God isn't asking us to do more.

He's inviting us to stay close.

To examine the places where the "net" has slipped.

To close the gaps before the enemy takes advantage of them.

The wisest man who ever lived left us with this instruction:

"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."
—Proverbs 4:23 (KJV)

Guard your heart.

Guard your time with God.

Guard your mind.

Guard your intimacy with Christ.

The enemy is always looking for an opening.

Don't wait until the pond is empty to discover where the net came loose.

In the wee hours of the morning, I was awakened out of a deep sleep by a bird singing loudly outside my window.

As I talked with a lady on the phone about how this Bible study has been for her, she said, “I am glad God can use ashes. You know there a lot of good things you can use ashes for like making things grow better in your garden.”