WE NEED THE WORD LIKE A FISH NEEDS WATER

We all watched, excited, as the sunfish splashed up from the lake and landed with a thud on the dock. My husband reached out to remove the hook but the fish slipped from his grasp. “Look Mommy, he’s dancing!” And sure enough, the fish did look to be dancing as it dangled and flopped at our feet.

I can relate to that fish. From the outside, I look like I’m dancing. I race through my days; flip from activity to obligation, from crisis to need. Thanks to my smartphone, I’ve mastered multi-tasking. I get more done in a day than my grandmother did in a week. Yet still, there is never enough time. I look like I’m dancing—but in truth I am gasping for air.

What can we learn from the fish? It lurches away from the one who can set it free from the hook and plunge it in life-giving water. We too are hooked; jerked about by the demands of the world, pulled by anxieties and fears, caught up in our own desires.

“Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden,” says Jesus, “and I will give you rest.”

Make time in your day for Jesus. In the morning, before you set out onto the lake that is your life and start chasing the things that set their hooks in you, put yourself in his hands. Drink deeply from the Word. Set aside even ten minutes to read the Bible and hear him speak into your heart.

Then if you find yourself “out of your element” during the day, step aside for a moment and put yourself back in his hands.

We need the Word like a fish needs water.

© Sarah W Christmyer

This post originally appeared on the Bible Study for Catholics blog.

Learn more about reading the Bible:

• Build a Bible Reading Habit (3 “Ps” to Get You Started)
• Our Daily Bread: Three Steps to Daily Bible Reading
• Read the Bible Like a Disciple
• The Bible: a Book for the Family (series)
• Flourishing in Drought (series)
• A New Year’s Resolution You Can Keep (reading the Bible every day)