It has been a frustrating week for me in the turkey woods. That may strike you as odd, as last time I wrote about how unbelievable the gobbling and activity was all around us, and I was just assuming that was a sign that the action was picking up. However, having ventured out three different mornings this past week, let me assure you that the action did not pick up at all; in fact, it came to a screeching halt. It has been difficult to even hear a gobbler this week, much less have one gobble long enough to get anywhere remotely close to it. The gobblers have gone from fired up, to henned up, to all messed up in just a few short days!
Matthew 21:9 (NASB)
The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!”
Matthew 27:22-23 (NASB)
Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Crucify Him!” And he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they kept shouting all the more, saying, “Crucify Him!”
You may be thinking, now how can things really change that much in just a few days? Well, I do not have a scholarly explanation for why the gobblers are acting strange right now, but it probably has a lot to do with them being at a transition where the hens are getting ready to leave them and head to their nests. And although you may think from my description of the gobblers' behavior that they must be very fickle creatures, in reality, their behavior over the past week reminds me a lot of my tendencies spiritually.
See, one day I can be all fired up praising the Lord, serving Him courageously and in tune with where He is working around me, and then something inopportune can occur or I can choose to participate in sinful behavior, and in no time I become unresponsive to and uninterested in His leadings and promptings. And quite honestly, none of us are immune to this fickleness, as it plagues all of human nature. Perhaps the most obvious example of this in scripture is Christ riding into Jerusalem on what Christians celebrate as Palm Sunday. The very same crowds who enthusiastically looked to Christ for their deliverance from the Roman oppression, were calling for His crucifixion six days later. There is one simple word for the root cause of our fickle behaviors - sin. And ironically, it was the same sin causing the crowds to call for Christ's crucifixion, that He was already planning to go to the Cross to pay the penalty for once and for all.
How about you - have you chosen to acknowledge that you are a sinner in need of a Savior? If you have not yet dealt with this question in your life, I encourage you to act on it today. Do not put it off until tomorrow, because the distractions of this world may cause it to not have the same priority and urgency at another time. Be assured that the Holy Spirit that comes upon you when you ask Christ to be our Savior and Lord will help you to rise above your sinful tendencies and fickle behaviors. - GE
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