If you asked me if I like to fish, my response to you would be yes. However, I like fishing conditionally. To clarify, I like the experience of the fish tugging on the line, setting the hook, and reeling in it in to see what I caught. I do like to catch fish.
But, fishing is also an experience of not catching. It’s an experience of waiting. In those moments you experience every detail that affirms the lack of action and stagnation.
Lines in the water move only when the wind exhales. People are still, quite, and interrupted only by a recast. Interaction is limited to when lines get crossed and a quick untangling is accomplished through teamwork.
In the waiting, contemplation of quitting starts churning.
And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become (B)fishers of men.”[a] 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. Matthew 1:17-19
I am learning that there are times in life that it has been very clear when God has called me to be a fisher of men. My response has been immediate, and the catching starts occurring quickly. But, I am realizing that there are seasons when the catching is on hold in comparison to the way it was before.
I find this is the time when I just want to put the pole down and quit instead of staying in the waiting. I doubt the calling all together. I feel off and not in sync. I wonder if I ever really heard Him correctly.
When Caleb, was 85 years old, he finally received the land that was allotted and promised to him 40 years prior. At that time, he was 45 years old. He, along with Joshua, were one of 12 spies sent out to get information on Canaan. Only Caleb and Joshua reported back with confidence that they could conquer the land. The other ones spread fear.
The age he was sent struck me first. This helps be realize that age is not an advantage or disadvantage to God’s calling.
Instead it affirms the advantage you have when you have confidence that the calling comes in his timing.
The other thing that stuck out in Joshua 14 was that Caleb followed the Lord/God wholeheartedly. Caleb and Joshua both saw what the other 10 men saw. However, Caleb knew that as long as he followed the Lord without a doubt, victory was in the plan.
This helps me realize that how, when, and how often is not for me to know or see.
I just need to have confidence in the one who put the pole in my hand.
Blessings-Erica
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