Catfish Counseling

Do you have someone in your life that is always there to bring light to areas of your life where you are struggling? Maybe you are not reading and studying the Word like you know you should and every time you see this person, they ask, “How is your Bible studying going?” They can seem obnoxious, maddening at times. You get to the point of avoiding them. You zig and zag across the church campus when you see them so you don’t get the dreaded “lecture”.

What would you say if I told you those people were actually a blessing to you? I will even go a step further; I believe God puts those people in our lives for a purpose.

I heard a story many years ago that I just love and illustrates this well. In the 19th century, those in the fish industry faced a dilemma when trying to ship cod from the East Coast to California. The only way was to ship it by sea and because the ship had to sail around South America, which took about a month, the fish were not fit for consumption when they arrived. They next tried to ship them in big containers of water, but the cod never moved much during the trip and although fit for consumption, they had no taste. At this point, someone came up with this idea to ship them in these containers but add in a few catfish. Catfish are the natural enemy of cod; therefore, they would chase the cod around the containers during the trip. After all this natural exercise, the cod would arrive almost as if they were taken straight out of their natural environment.

Therefore, I believe God blesses us with these catfish. I have learned to listen up when one of my catfish are speaking. As long as it lines up with the Word of God, allow the counsel of these catfish.

May God continue to bless us by giving us many catfish along our journey.