Codfish and catfish

In the northeastern United States, codfish are big commercial business. Note the following facts: There is a market for eastern cod all over, especially in sections farthest removed from the northeast coastline. But the public demand posed a problem to the shippers. At first, they froze the cod, then shipped them elsewhere, but the freeze took away much of the flavor. So they experimented with shipping them alive, in tanks of seawater, but that proved even worse. Not only was it more expensive, the cod still lost its flavor and, in addition, became soft and mushy. The texture was severely affected. 

Finally, some creative person solved the problem in the most innovative manner. The codfish were placed in the tank of water along with their natural enemy--the catfish. From the time the cod left the East Coast until it arrived at its westernmost destination, those ornery catfish chased the cod all over the tank! And, you guessed it, when the cod came at the market, they were as fresh as when they were first caught. There was no loss of flavor, nor was the texture affected. If anything, it was better than before. 

Each one of us is in a tank of particular and inescapable circumstances. It is painful enough to stay in the tank. But in addition to our situation, there are God-appointed “catfish” to bring sufficient tension that keeps us alive, alert, fresh, and growing.

It’s all part of God’s project to shape our character so we will be more like His Son. Understand why the catfish are in your tank. Understand that they are part of God’s method of producing character in your life and mine. 

This beautiful piece of reminder from famous author and pastor Charles Swindoll surely explains why life is not smooth sailing all the time.(1)

Problems are not meant to destroy us. God sends them to us, designed to make us a stronger person. Stronger in faith and stronger in confidence and, most importantly, stronger in terms of experience so that we could reach out to those who are undergoing difficult situations too.

Author and Holocaust survivor Corrie Ten Boom says: “When a train goes through a tunnel, and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.” Same thing in life. When tough times come, and everything seems so dark, you don’t bail out, you stay there, and you go through it and trust God. Without catfish thrown into our lives, then we become all soft, mushy and useless.

Cripple him, and you have a Sir Walter Scott. Lock him in a prison cell, and you have a John Bunyan. Bury him in the snows of Valley Forge, and you have a George Washington. Raise him in abject poverty, and you have an Abraham Lincoln. Strike him down in infantile paralysis, and he becomes Franklin Roosevelt. Deafen him, and you have a Ludwig van Beethoven. Have him or her born black in a society filled with racial discrimination, and you have a Booker T. Washington, a Marian Anderson, a George Washington Carver... Call him a slow learner, “retarded,” and write him off an uneducable, and you have an Albert Einstein.(2)

  Crosses are ladders that lead to heaven. God could have kept Daniel out of the lions’ den... He could have kept Paul and Silas out of jail... He could have prevented the three Hebrew children out of the fiery furnace... but God has never promised to keep us out of hard places... what He has promised is to go with us through every hard place, and to bring us through victoriously. (3) 

The great Charles Haddon Spurgeon of England said: “As sure as ever God puts his children in the furnace, he will be in the furnace with them.” And that’s why we should not lose hope.

Let me share with you a favorite passage of Scripture of mine. Psalm 56:4 The Lord is my Helper I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? Welcome your catfish and, in all of these, have faith in God.

(Connect with Francis Kong in www.facebook.com/franciskong2 or listen to “Business Matters” Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. over 98.7 DZFE-FM ‘The Master’s Touch’, the classical music station.)