Outdoor Truths: Aiming Outdoorsmen Towards Christ April 3, 2014
gary@outdoortruths.org ~ www.outdoortruths.org
John had laid his cheek on the stock of the gun. His hat and facemask were covering any lingering evidence of flesh. It was just a matter of time before the gobbler would appear in his line of fire. Johnny gave him final instructions. “Pull the trigger when you have him in your sights.” As quickly as the words were spoken, John shot... and missed. The turkey turned and took flight unscathed by the experience. We gathered up any possibility of hope and looked for a sign on the ground of where the bird might have been hit. It was not to be. About five minutes passed and little John was playing with his handheld game. His miss had somehow made its way to the list of things to not get overly discouraged about. He somehow knew that as long as dad was around, there would be other days and other opportunities. It even seemed that his success had already taken place. It was when his dad invited him to go. Johnny on the other hand, kept reliving what had just happened. He mourned the miss. He grieved the failed attempt. He so wanted his son to shoot his first turkey. Tonight, John will sleep soundly, Johnny will not. Our heavenly Father’s desire is for us to prosper. This doesn’t mean that it’s His will for us to have a lot of money. Money could not replace Johnny’s loss of joy. God’s prosperity, however, runs deeper than dollars. He wants to bless our experiences as much as Johnny wanted little John to be successful. This may on occasion involve finances, but more often it involves other things He brings into our lives. When we really know God’s heartfelt desire to bless us, we don’t have to linger too long on the times that we missed, because we know that another opportunity will come if we’ll listen for the invitation from the Father.
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