| Outdoor Truths: Aiming Outdoorsmen Toward Christ Sept. 6th |
Gary Miller ~ outdoortruths.org
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When I was young, Labor Day marked the beginning of the school year. It seemed that I joyfully anticipated going back to school as much as I joyfully anticipated it being over in the springtime. These same anticipations are still shared by parents all over the U.S. (you know who you are). It seems that after a period of months, doing the same thing, we are ready for a change; only to be ready for another change in another few months. It is a vicious cycle that can be harmful if we don’t watch it. (more about that later) I think that is one reason I like living in an area where I can enjoy all four seasons without any one of them lasting too long. And it’s also the reason that I love the fact that most hunting is separated into seasons instead of ongoing. As I have written about before, there is something about anticipating what is coming up. It changes our focus from the actual event to everything that surrounds it. It helps us pay attention to the things that we sometimes forget about during the hunting season itself. As an old Heinz catsup commercial used to proclaim as the bottle was turned up….. “Anticipation, it’s making me wait.” Yes, anticipating something means that we must wait for what’s ahead. And we all need to learn how better to wait.
Change is good. Seasons are good. Both move us from the stale to the fresh; from the old to the new; even from the present to the future. But again, there is danger in this as well. You see, sometimes change only keeps us from dealing with the issues that we need to handle. It doesn’t fix them but only keeps our minds preoccupied by the latest thing we become involved with. Or what’s even worse, we sometimes come to believe that the change is the answer in itself. We say things like, “If I just had a new job (house, car, wife, husband, city, hobby, gun, boat, plane, toy) then I would be happy.” This is not only the devil’s lie but also his tactic. His plan is this; if he can keep you moving from one thing to another for your contentment and happiness, then you will never deal with the real issue which has everything to do with your relationship to God. And if you do this your whole life, you will eventually die without ever having what you really need and are really searching for. This is exactly why the Bible says it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to go to Heaven. He is not saying there is anything whatsoever wrong with riches, but only that most rich people will spend their whole lives buying another toy in order to give them the next quick fix of happiness and contentment and thus never looking to God for eternal life later and abundant life now.
My friend, thank God for the changes, seasons and gifts that He allows to come into your life, but don’t allow them to keep you from dealing with the real issues that God is trying to bring to your attention. Getting these right will bring a contentment and happiness that “things” never will.
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