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Hunters Devotional
by Randall Wadley Once again it hunting season, here in central Alabama. The hunters, men and woman alike have prepared prior to the season to bag a trophy buck. They have their guns clean and polished, their scopes sighted in, where they can get that clean shot at their prize. They enter the woods on four wheelers, and their brightly dressed in orange to be seen by all. Their pockets are filled with scents that attract, and scents that cover. They dismount their iron chariots and head into the wood on a journey to drop a prize catch. They have dreamed of this all summer, an eight point buck or better, the fame and notoriety of showing off their trophy is constantly on their minds. They trudge through a thicket of briars and vines to get to their thrones on the sides of those trees. The darkness covers them as they climb upward in the freezing cold prior to the coming dawn. Once they are there, they stand motionless for hours waiting on their prize. The thing is, their chariots are loud, and their attire is so bright the deer need sunglasses in the dark to keep from being blinded. Have you ever gone walking in the woods with three layers of clothes and a pair of insulated boots on that weight ten pounds? Even in the daylight this is an accomplishment. But in the dark you seem to step on every branch on the ground, and trip over the occasional fallen tree. They try being quiet, but they make more noise than a stampede of elephants entering the woods. Are they hunting blind, deaf, and dumb animals? They must be, because this time of year hunters constantly gets their prize. We need to, be self controlled and alert! Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8) The enemy is constantly around us looking for a void in our armor, and when he finds it, he strikes with authority and strength. The voids are created through disobedience; in turn it gives the enemy authority to come against us. It is so important that we stay self controlled, just as the deer do in the woods. They watch the hunters enter the woods, but never giving up their location. Quietly they stand motionless, as they perceive every move the devourer makes, with their eyes and understands the direction the enemy is going with their hearing. But some still fall victim to the devourer. He said, "Go and tell this people: " 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' 10 Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." (Isaiah 6:9,10) The deer remind me of our Christian journeys. The warning signs are all around us, we see and hear them but we fail to perceive and understand them. I feel at times I have blinders on, and unless the enemy comes straight at me, I get blind sided. He will not fight fair; he prefers to attack from the rear flank. He is like the hunters in the woods, he doesnt prowl around quietly, he prowls around like a roaring lion. We can see the devastation in his wake. People addicted to drugs, pornography, and adultery to name a few. We can see it in our inner circles and outer circles. Hes a noisy adversary! Do you want to be the enemies prize trophy? We need to ask the Lord for new hearts, a heart like His, full of compassion and mercy. Like Paul the scales must fall from our eyes, where our spiritual vision can be restored and our ears need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirits voice. Then we can turn and be healed. Father, we ask you to forgive us for being so blind, deaf, and hard headed. Please create in us new hearts, clean the wax of the world from our ears, so we can hear Your gentle whispers. Remove the scales from our eyes, so that we can see all the whiles of the enemy. We also ask that you increase Your Spirit in us, so we will have the discernment to be still in the face of the enemy. In Jesus name. Randall Wadley 2006 Randall Wadley is a freelance writer and evangelist from Alabama. He has many articles published on websites and in e-zines. He is motivated by a love for humanity and his compassion is to share the love of Jesus Christ with the world. You can contact him through his website www.theprayerwall.org Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |