Walking Catfish

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.” [Jude 24]

The walking catfish is a unique species of freshwater catfish found primarily in Southeast Asia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. As reflected in its name, it has an amazing ability to “walk” or scoot across land to find food or suitable environments. While it does not truly walk, it does have the ability to use its pectoral fins to keep it upright as it makes a sort of wiggling forward motion with snakelike movements. Some of these squirming migrations span well over a mile.

You might be wondering, “How does this fish manage to breathe while out of water for so long?” The walking catfish possesses a large accessory breathing organ. Tree-like respiratory structures extend above the gill chambers, enabling it to absorb atmospheric oxygen. It can survive quite a while using this form of locomotion as long as it stays moist. That’s why most of these migrations happen during or after a rainfall. This fish normally lives in slow-moving (and often stagnant) ponds, swamps, streams, and rivers of the Mekong basin. When these flooded rice paddies or temporary pools dry up, its “walking” skill comes in handy for moving to other pools of water. It would be interesting to be driving down the road and see a sign that says: “Caution: Catfish Crossing!”

Knowing God can design fish to walk on land, it should not be hard for us to believe He can empower a man to walk on water. When Jesus saw His disciples in a boat on Galilee fighting a storm, He went out to them, walking on water. At first they were afraid of this strange sight, but Peter then asked, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water” (Matthew 14:28). Jesus said, “Come.”

The Lord also says to each of us, “Come.” Like walking on water, the pathway to God defies the reality we live with every day. Like a walking catfish, it may seem strange, from the perspective of the world, to humble yourself and confess your sinfulness. But God will lift you up and keep you from stumbling back into the stagnant pools of this world.