FATC Days of Christmas (Day 6)…Steady in the Stream

FATC Days of Christmas (Day 6)… Steady in the Stream

Remember…Our FATC motto —It’s not just about the fly fishing. Well, Christmas is approaching and I have a gift for my FATC brothers. Who knows…for some it may be just the gift they need, but didn’t realize it.

I’ve recently enjoyed reading Daniel Bryant’s book, GOD MUST BE A FLY FISHER, and I think many of you will enjoy it also. I’m reprinting a short chapter each day from now through New Year’s Day. This is not just a book about fly fishing. It’s a book about slowing down. It’s a book about seeing that every moment outdoors might be an invitation to come closer to the One who created it all.

(From God Must Be A Fly Fisher by author Daniel Bryant)

Steady in the Stream

There’s something about the river that teaches you to be still even when everything around you is moving.

You watch the surface dance while the deeper current flows silently underneath. You learn to plant your feet on slippery rocks, balancing against the push of the stream. And slowly, cast by cast, you become steady.

That’s Daniel.

When the tide of culture rushed hard in one direction, Daniel stood still —rooted, resolute, and focused on something far deeper than the world around him.

He was just a teenager when Jerusalem fell and he was taken captive to Babylon —a strange land with strange gods and stranger laws. But Daniel didn’t panic. He didn’t fight. He didn’t fold.

He planted himself in the current and chose to kneel.

“But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine…” (Daniel 1:8)

In other words: I may live in Babylon, but Babylon won’t live in me.

We fly fishers know something about going against the flow. Sometimes the fish aren’t where the current wants to take you. Sometimes the best cast means standing still while the water tries to push you downriver.

But the catch doesn’t come to those who drift. It comes to those who hold.

Daniel was steady through it all —pagan kings, jealous rivals, death threats, regime changes. How? He prayed.

Three times a day. Windows open. Knees bowed. No matter the law.

“When Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home… and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” (Daniel 6:10)

He didn’t change his rhythm to fit the danger. He stayed faithful to the One who had carried him this far.

And into the lion’s den he went.

Fly fishers may not face literal lions (unless you’re in Alaska during grizzly season), but we know the feeling of fear. Of stepping into something wild and wondering if we’ll make it through. The river can humble you in a heartbeat. One wrong step and the current grabs your legs. One false cast and the whole pool spooks. There are moments where you realize you’re not in control.

But like Daniel, we don’t have to be.

Because the God who shuts the mouths of lions is the same God who holds the currents in place. The same God who was with Daniel in the den is with you in your trial.

When the king rushed to the den the next morning, he cried out, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God… been able to rescue you?”

And from the darkness came the voice of a man who had stood his ground:

“My God sent His angel, and He shut the mouths of the lions.” (Daniel 6:22)

When the river rises. When the culture rages. When the night gets long and the lions get loud –stay steady.

Kneel.

Pray.

And trust the One who has proven time and again… He shows up in the depths.