FATC Days of Christmas (Day 7)…The Long Drift of Trust

FATC Days of Christmas (Day 7)…The Long Drift of Trust 

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)

The Long Drift of Trust

Some rivers rush. Others meander. But beneath every surface, there’s a current that moves with purpose even when you can’t see it.

Joseph’s life felt, for a long time, like a series of miscasts.

One minute he was favored, clothed in a robe of many colors. The next, stripped of it and thrown in a pit by his own brothers. Sold into slavery. Accused of a crime he didn’t commit. Forgotten in prison. Left waiting in a dark and silent season that would have crushed most men.

But not Joseph.

Because underneath it all under the betrayal, injustice, and years of delay there was an undercurrent. The hand of God, moving quietly but powerfully, pulling Joseph toward his purpose.

We fly fishers know this rhythm. We’ve stood in pools that seem still until we feel it —the gentle tug of water moving beneath our boots. You can’t always see the current, but you can trust it. Just like Joseph learned to trust his God.

Genesis never tells us that Joseph lost faith. He interpreted dreams in a prison cell as confidently as he did in Pharaoh’s palace.

Whether forgotten or favored, Joseph remained faithful. Why? Because he understood something deeper was moving.

Eventually, the tide turned.

One day he was in a dungeon. The next, second-in-command of the most powerful nation on earth. God didn’t just rescue Joseph —He positioned him.

And when Joseph’s brothers came, starving and afraid, he had every reason to take revenge. But instead, he forgave. Because by then, he saw the whole story.

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good —to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20)

That verse is the anchor for every season where the water feels silent. It reminds us that even when it seems we’re drifting —God is directing.

Sometimes in fly fishing, the best drift doesn’t look like much. It’s not flashy. The fly doesn’t bounce. It just flows. Quietly, naturally. And that’s when the fish strikes.

Joseph’s life was like that drift. Unhurried. Unforced. Just steady obedience —cast after cast —until the right moment came.

So, if you find yourself in a season like Joseph’s —waiting, wondering, maybe even weeping —take heart. The current is moving. The drift has purpose. And the God who took a prisoner and made him a prince? He still moves like that today.

Stay faithful.

Stay humble.

And trust the undercurrent.

Because even when the river seems still… God is working beneath the surface.