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The sport of fishing requires enduring patience and, according to many seasoned fishermen, a little good fortune. The weather, water temperature, type of bait, noise level, time of day and even the air quality are all factors that are taken into consideration when embarking on a fishing expedition.

Now I realise that fishermen are notorious for stretching the truth when retelling adventures of a big fish that got away, but I promise this is not a fish-tale.

For a few years during my childhood, my dad would take our family on a summer fishing trip. I loved spending long days in the boat, because it meant I had my father’s undivided attention and could ask and tell him everything that was on my mind and heart. However, apparently, my chatter was responsible for keeping the fish away, so my dad, in his wisdom, tied an extra line and hook at the end of my line to distract me with a new style of fishing.

I caught two fish at once in about five minutes, and, with great excitement and loud squeals, I pulled in my prize, much to my dad’s joy and amazement. I still remember his deep laughter echoing across the water for miles. I could tell that He was proud of his daughter’s catch, because he told everyone about it for days afterwards.

Each step Jesus took while on this earth was intentional, each word He spoke purposeful and each life He touched deliberate. There was and is nothing random with our Lord.
Whether He was calling the uneducated fisherman, the hated tax collector, a woman with demonic problems or a religious pharisee, His words and call carried an authenticity and authority that was taken seriously.

Today, Jesus is still equipping and training new disciples who will need to learn enduring patience and the ability to read the spiritual climate and signs around them in order to become fishers of men, notwithstanding the distractions and noise of their day.

As a little girl, I didn’t really know what I was doing when it came to fishing, but I happily and simply obeyed my father’s instructions, and the end result was fish! Jesus only did and said what His Father told Him to say and do (John 5:19, 12:49) all the way to Calvary, where He obeyed His Father’s instructions and endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2), for you and for me!

Prayer: Thank You, Father God, that Your perfect instructions are always for the greater good. As I follow You today, I pray for a teachable spirit so that I can be the disciple You have called me to be, learning and discerning how to fish in Your Kingdom! In Jesus’ name, Amen.