The Upper Room Daily Devotionals in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Patient Fishing" for Wednesday, 4 January 2017 with Scripture: Matthew 4:18 As Yeshua walked by Lake Kinneret, he saw two brothers who were fishermen — Shim‘on, known as Kefa, and his brother Andrew — throwing their net into the lake. 19 Yeshua said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men!” 20 At once they left their nets and went with him.
21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers — Ya’akov Ben-Zavdai and Yochanan his brother — in the boat with their father Zavdai, repairing their nets; and he called them. 22 At once they left the boat and their father and went with Yeshua.
21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers — Ya’akov Ben-Zavdai and Yochanan his brother — in the boat with their father Zavdai, repairing their nets; and he called them. 22 At once they left the boat and their father and went with Yeshua.
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“Come, follow me,” [Jesus] said, “and I’ll show you how to fish for people.”[Matthew 4:19 (CEB)]
On a warm, tranquil evening last summer, a friend taught me to fish. He provided the equipment and instructed me on fish behavior and bait. He emphasized the need for patience in fishing, especially when a fish is on the line and starts to fight. We rowed around the lake to his favorite fishing spots. When I finally hooked a “big one,” I became overly aggressive and the line broke.
After this experience, the analogy between fishing for fish and fishing for people in today’s reading became crystal clear to me. Opportunities to share our faith present themselves in daily life, often unexpectedly. The keys to success are knowledge, patience, and — most importantly — being willing to go “fishing.” While we will not “catch” them all, we do succeed in catching some. Those we don’t catch remain for others to fish for. We’re not all equally equipped with the knowledge, patience, and courage to catch everyone we witness to; but we can do our best in every human encounter, knowing God will finish the work. Looking back on my faith journey, I am eternally grateful for the numerous brave people who relentlessly fished and prayed for me until I was finally hooked on God’s eternal truths.
The Author: Evan Wride (California, USA)
Thought for the Day: How will I follow Jesus’ call to “fish for people”?
Prayer: Dear God, show me how to bravely, patiently tell my story, trusting you with the outcome. Amen.
Prayer focus: For patience in sharing my faith
“Come, follow me,” [Jesus] said, “and I’ll show you how to fish for people.”[Matthew 4:19 (CEB)]
On a warm, tranquil evening last summer, a friend taught me to fish. He provided the equipment and instructed me on fish behavior and bait. He emphasized the need for patience in fishing, especially when a fish is on the line and starts to fight. We rowed around the lake to his favorite fishing spots. When I finally hooked a “big one,” I became overly aggressive and the line broke.
After this experience, the analogy between fishing for fish and fishing for people in today’s reading became crystal clear to me. Opportunities to share our faith present themselves in daily life, often unexpectedly. The keys to success are knowledge, patience, and — most importantly — being willing to go “fishing.” While we will not “catch” them all, we do succeed in catching some. Those we don’t catch remain for others to fish for. We’re not all equally equipped with the knowledge, patience, and courage to catch everyone we witness to; but we can do our best in every human encounter, knowing God will finish the work. Looking back on my faith journey, I am eternally grateful for the numerous brave people who relentlessly fished and prayed for me until I was finally hooked on God’s eternal truths.
The Author: Evan Wride (California, USA)
Thought for the Day: How will I follow Jesus’ call to “fish for people”?
Prayer: Dear God, show me how to bravely, patiently tell my story, trusting you with the outcome. Amen.
Prayer focus: For patience in sharing my faith
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