Winds of Change

The rut is upon us here in Virginia and the mature bucks are up and moving. Saturday evening I decided to revisit a location that I knew featured dominant buck sign as well as a group of does that were regularly visiting a nearby soybean field in the evenings. I got settled into my tree stand around 4:00pm, and saw my first deer that evening around 5:30. Around that same time I noticed that it was very dark behind me off to the west, obviously an approaching front which I had not noticed on the weather forecast. After listening for several minutes to what sounded like deer running around in the bottom behind me, I had another doe appear from behind my stand at a few minutes prior to 6:00, and work her way out to the nearby bean field. Shortly thereafter, the front began to work through the area, with the wind going from nearly still to whipping violently in all directions. I was concerned whether I should stay up the tree with the wind blowing the way that it was, but I was quickly distracted by movement from the location which the doe had appeared a few minutes prior. I first noticed it was a large bodied deer and then immediately caught sight of his rack, a no-doubt shooter. I flipped my secondary safety forward on my muzzleloader and found him in the scope as he eased down the path which the doe had taken. He stopped behind a group of trees and checked the swirling wind for a considerable period, and I was concerned that he might get just enough unwanted scent to decide to leave the area. Fortunately, he took the final step I needed him to take, and leaning into the tree for extra support, I quickly squeezed the trigger as he turned broadside. After the smoke cleared and a few seconds passed, I caught sight of him back behind my stand staggering and then going down for good. It was a whirlwind, both literally and figuratively, figuring out what had really just happened in the matter of a minute or two.

Matthew 24:4-14 (NASB)
And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

When the front came through Saturday evening, I was pretty concerned for my safety and well-being perched up in a tree stand some 20 plus feet off the ground. It literally went from still calm to a torrent of wind. But as it turned out, this front likely caused such a pressure change that it forced these deer to get up and begin to move. I am of the opinion that these deer, or a least this buck, would not have moved that early and presented me with a shot if it had not been for that change in the weather. What had initially caught me off guard, spooked me and seemed like it would bring a premature end to my hunt actually brought forth success far greater than I could have imagined!

In a similar way, we are experiencing winds of change right now in our community, our state, our nation, and our world. Today, Virginians headed to the polls to determine the direction which this commonwealth will take, and experts predict that the results here will likely signal the direction in which our nation will ultimately turn. Unfortunately, the morals and values that many of us cherish and embrace are being eroded by the choices of worldly minded elected officials. The freedoms that we hold dear are more and more at jeopardy as the days pass by, and major changes in power and influence are occurring rapidly throughout the world. Though scripture has foretold that days like these will come to pass, these periodic events seem to shock us and catch us by surprise, just as that wind did to me Saturday evening. But we should be reminded that God has instructed us that these times will come, that changes will occur for the worse, and that persecution will happen to those committed to Him just like it happened to Him. Nevertheless, He promises us that, while these trials may be unpleasant for a time, the victory that will come in the end will be far greater than any of His followers can imagine.

Brothers, are you preparing yourselves physically and spiritually now to be able to ride out the 'storms' that are approaching? Don't let these winds of change continue to catch you off guard. They will certainly continue to come, and likely get worse, so let us look to the Lord for His strength and perseverance. A great reward awaits those who endure. - GE