A group of fish suppliers had trouble shipping cod from the East Coast. No matter what they tried, the fish arrived spoiled, mushy, or dead. As a last resort, they tried shipping the fish alive in tanks with one catfish in each tank. The cod arrived alive and well because they spent the trip running from the catfish.
Pastor Laurie went on to correlate the catfish with our spiritual lives: God puts catfish in our spiritual tanks in the form of difficult co-workers, family members, or any other difficulty to keep us spiritually fit.
Picturing the poor cod running for their lives made me giggle, and equating them with my own challenges caused outright laughter. I don't know about you, but I think God puts a whole lot more than one catfish in my spiritual tank at a time, and I spend a great deal of my time running, dodging, avoiding and hiding. It seems I lose one, only to see another.
God also sends confirmations along with the catfish.
Psalm 27: 13-14: I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living. Expect the Lord, do manfully, and let thy heart take courage, and wait for the Lord.
God is in control and I am not to worry over my circumstances, even though they are frustrating and sometimes frightening. It is time to do some heavenly house cleaning, time to remove the dust of fear and the cobwebs of doubt, and replace them with the light of His grace.
How about you? Are you fleeing from catfish in your spiritual tank?
I currently don't have any catfish on my tail, but I'm sure they're coming! This is a great analogy. I've certainly had catfish around before. The numbers thing is weird, kind of like LOST. :-) God really does have a sense of humor, doesn't he?!
ReplyDeleteMare, I am still laughing when I think of the cod fleeing the catfish. As for the numbers, are you referring to the TV program? I have never watched it. God has routinely given me confirmations with a humorous twist. Evidently He believes I sometimes take life a little too seriously. I need to smile and laugh more, even when things are tough. Thanks for stopping in and commenting.
ReplyDeleteThis is great...we are so often on the same page...God has been telling me I wasn't approaching our latest challenge with humor...so I grabbed some books to make me laugh, and this post just confirmed it again.
ReplyDeleteOur God knows when we need those catfish and a good belly laugh
This is great...I will be chewing on this all day!
Janette, God is the perfect Father isn't He? He knows what we need when, and before, we do!
ReplyDelete