Gone Fishing! — Psalm 107

 

JESUS TOLD US his Father loves to fish. All fishermen have stories to tell. Read some of God’s favorite fish stories in Psalm 107.

Four Fish Stories

1. Some refugees lived out in the desert. One day they got lost and wandered around in the wasteland. They became hungry and thirsty and knew they were about to die. No one was there to help them. They had heard about God, but he wasn’t their God. Nevertheless, at their wits’ end and not wanting to perish, they cried out to the Lord. He heard them. He showed them a straight path they hadn’t seen before. It led to a nearby village where they settled.

Do you think they should thank him for taking them to a safe place where they had water and food?

2. Some children grew up and became rebels against God. “Sunday school BS!” they called it. Unfortunately, they wound up in a foreign prison where they suffered in darkness and iron chains. Their captors forced them into bitter labor. After a long time, they began collapsing on the job, and there was no one to help them. So they swallowed their pride and cried to the Lord in their trouble. Miraculously, the court reversed their sentence, and they were set free.

Do you think they should thank God for his love?

3. Some other children grew up and also rebelled. They turned to drugs, alcohol, and sex. In the end, they hurt their own bodies, got sick, lost all their appetite, and wasted away to nothing. No one really wants to die, so they turned to the Lord in their trouble and cried out to him. He heard. He sent crazy Christians to them who loved them and told them God’s word. God healed them.

Do you think they should thank him and even joyfully tell others about him?

4. These other people became savvy business men and women. They knew all about global marketing and made gobs of money, even millions. But the world economy was very unstable. The markets crashed, their wholesale and retail outlets failed, and all their stocks became worthless. Their stomachs churned and they got sick. No matter which way they turned, the whole world was reeling around them. Really, really scared, they cried out to the Lord in their trouble. He helped them. He stilled the storm to a whisper, and the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm. He guided them to the safe haven they desperately longed for.

Do you think they should thank him by going to the other sophisticated people in their world with praise for the God who saved them?

Summary

Do you see how God catches his fish? We say, “Why does God allow all this pain and hardship in our lives? How could a good and loving God allow this?” It’s true–he does allow humankind to suffer. It is true–God does turn rivers into deserts and flowing springs into thirsty ground. A good farm becomes a dust barren waste. He does this because people are wicked and ignore his commandments.

But then God goes and does just the opposite–he turns the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs. He brings the hungry to live in bounteous places. They work and spend their time and resources wisely, and he blesses them and their families.

It’s a sad truth, but when things go well for us, our human tendency is to forget all about God and his ways. We even thumb our noses at him. But when oppression, calamity and sorrow come, we are humbled. God has no respect for the high and mighty among us. But the needy, he lifts out of their affliction and increases their families like flocks. The upright see and rejoice in all this, but the wicked just shut their mouths.

A wise person should think about these things and consider the great love of the Lord.