Pastor Greg Laurie from Harvest Church in Riverside, California sent
this story in an e-mail:
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?