If you’ve ever felt sorrow, grief, or pain, you should read this.

When my youngest brother Davey was about four, my Dad took him fishing for the first time. What transpired next would change our lives forever and, if you keep reading, it might just change yours, too.

One morning, while the rest of us were busy, Dad took four-year-old Davey to the local pond for his first fishing experience. After just a few minutes, Davey was reeling in his first fish. It was unmistakably small, but Davey was ecstatic. Dad pulled the fish from the line and was about to throw it back when he felt Davey tugging on his pant leg.

“Dad, Dad, can we keep him? Can we keep him? Pweeeeeez, can we keep him?”

Dad tried to talk Davey out of it, but there was no arguing with an insistent four-year-old, so they combed the beach and found an old, rusty coffee can, filled it with water, and dropped the little fish in. Davey held it gently in the backseat on the way home, making sure no water spilled over the edge. He had a new pet, and he was thrilled.

We had to attend an event several hours away that evening and the fish set on the back porch, in the small coffee can, in the hot summer sun, for the entire day. We pulled into the driveway late that night and Davey, in his excitement, beat the family to the porch. When he reached that old, rusty coffee can, we heard a blood curdling wail that could only come from the inner-depths of a completely distraught four-year-old. There we saw the gruesome scene—the fish was belly up, floating in the can, stone cold dead. Davey was beside himself. Mom tried to console him, but it was no use. His feelings had been crushed.

Then, as quickly as the dam of tears and emotion had burst, they stopped. Davey looked up at Dad in the blackness of the literal and emotional midnight and asked: “Dad, you always say that Jesus can do anything, right?”

“Uhh, yesssssss. I have said that.”

“Well, if Jesus can do anything, He can heal my fish, right?”

“Uhh… well… yes… I suppose… he could do that.”

“Then pray for my fish, Dad, so Jesus will heal him.”

Dad could think of no response other than to oblige Davey’s request. So as Dad always said, he prayed the best prayer he could pray over a dead fish, and once the prayer was over, Davey was content. He apparently truly believed Jesus would heal his fish, and that was enough for him.

Dad–being the ultimate man of faith that he was–thought that once Davey fell asleep, he’d come back out and get rid of the dead fish, hoping Davey would forget about it by morning. But, in the bustle of getting everyone in the house off to bed, he completely forgot.

The next morning, Dad got up early to do some work, but instead of walking out the back door where the dead fish remained in the coffee can, he walked out through the basement door, never giving another thought to the fish. Of course, when Davey woke up, he immediately ran out the back door to check on his beloved pet.

Dad was under the car when he heard the back door open and the little feet pounding the ground, moving quickly in his direction.

“Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad…HE DID IT! HE DID IT! HE DID IT! HE DID IT! HE DID IT!”

Dad slid out from under the car to see Davey, beaming from ear to ear. “Davey, what are you talking about?

“He did it, Dad. He did it! He healed my fish! Jesus healed my fish!”

They walked up to the porch together, and there, in the old rusty coffee can, was the fish, alive and well! If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I probably wouldn’t believe it to this day. I saw the fish dead as dead could be the night before and the next morning, the same fish was alive! Jesus truly had resurrected a dead fish!

We immediately named the fish “Lazarus,” and then had bigger questions to answer, like, “What do you do with a resurrected fish?” We had to go buy a fish tank, rocks, an aerator, fish food, and a few fish friends for our dear Lazarus.

Isaiah 53:4 tell us (in the KJV, no less—insert heavenly music here), “Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.” On this day, Jesus carried Davey’s sorrows. But what about your sorrows? What about your griefs? Who’s currently carrying them? If it’s you, consider this:

If Jesus was willing to resurrect a dead fish to calm the hurt feelings of a four-year-old boy, how far will he go to calm your emotional hurts and pains?

I think the answer’s pretty obvious.

 
Keep Reading!
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Emotional Knapsack
When Faith Gets Messy

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