Dangle On That Hook

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
James 1:2-4

I’m no fisherman, but I do know that it requires a lot of patience. I’ve only been fishing a few times in my life, when I was a kid, with my dad, who also isn’t a fisherman. But he had learned from his dad, and I guess he thought it was something he should try with his own kids. Of course he had to manage all worm-related aspects of the job, and pretty much everything else except for holding the fishing poles in the water I guess. Bless his heart, he was so patient with us.

Oh! You mean fishermen are supposed to be patient about the fish!

But seriously maybe my dad was a sort of fisherman after all. Jesus did use fishing as a metaphor for evangelism (Matthew 4:18-19). And James stresses the importance of patience. Maybe Dad was trying to teach us something.

Not too long ago I heard a preacher use an expression that I find really interesting. He said that when the words of Jesus, who is the great Fisher of men, make us uncomfortable, rather than just mentally moving on as quickly as possible, we need to allow ourselves to “dangle on that hook.” Like a fish that’s been caught, we want to get free and jump back in the water, avoiding any change, but in this analogy, being caught will save our lives. It may be uncomfortable, but as a disciple of Jesus, I need to be willing to endure a little bit of discomfort sometimes, and be patient enough to let God do His work on my life. Sometimes the fish has to be patient too!

Sometimes I need to dangle on the hook when confronted with my own sin.

I think sometimes God makes us dangle on the hook of an unpleasant experience or emotion. He doesn’t always fix things for us or answer our prayers immediately. He may be using the unpleasantness to get our attention about something more important than our unpleasant feeling.

And oftentimes in fishing, you have to let the worm dangle on the hook for a bit as you wait for the fish to bite.

I recently approached a young woman who, it seemed to me, had been fighting back some emotion during a Bible class. I asked her if she had any questions or anything on her mind.

“No,” was the immediate casual reply.

Now, I do NOT like to be pushy. I’m terrible at sales. But I stood there next to her and waited.

A few seconds later, there it was: “Yes.”

She sat back down so I sat back down and we proceeded to have a great conversation. She opened up to me with questions about baptism; with how up until two months before she had never even believed in God’s existence; with some things she was coming to terms with about her past, some that were not her fault and some, she admitted, that were.

If I had accepted her first answer of “no” and moved on, that conversation would not have happened.

Sometimes we need to let a question or comment dangle on the hook. We don’t always need to rush to fill an “awkward” silence. Sometimes it’s just about giving people a moment to think, to order their thoughts, or maybe to gather up their courage.

We (read: I) have to learn to “let patience have its perfect work;” to not always be in such a rush about so many things. We especially need to have the discipline not to try to wiggle away from every uncomfortable moment. Maybe send up a quick silent prayer in those few seconds. But dangle on that hook and let the Master Fisherman do His work.

Dear God, I thank you that Jesus was willing to patiently endure discomfort so that I might have eternal life. My relationship with You through Jesus is worth any discomfort that I might have to go through, so help me to endure with patience. I pray that patience will have its perfect work in my life. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

by Christie Cole Atkins

P.S. Much thanks to Mitchell Stevens of Dickson, TN, from whom I “caught” this phrase.