Happy New Year
Since we are starting a New Year, how many of you start the year off with a New Year’s Resolution? Mine always has something to do with a new exercise program. I start off with a bang, then we start traveling for Almost Heaven Archers critter dinners and my nutrition starts going downhill.
Recently I started a new program and during the intense parts the trainer kept repeating the phrase “Commit to the Journey.” I do not know why, but I couldn’t quit repeating that over and over in my mind.
I felt like there was something that God wanted me to think about and to share. As my thoughts started rolling I began to think about how, as a hunter, we commit to our hunt. We get all of our gear ready, make plans, make an effort to scout, and then harvest an animal. But it doesn’t stop there. We have to track that animal whether it runs up hill or down. Next we have to field dress it, drag it home, and then process the meat. We don’t just leave them lay, we follow through. The blessing is on the meal plate, in the freezer, or sometimes hanging on the wall.
That phrase isn’t just for fitness programs or hunters though. God also reminded me of Proverbs 16:3 “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” Here are a few examples of those in the bible that stayed “Committed to the Journey”: Mary and Joseph, Noah, Abraham and Lot, Caleb and Joshua and of course, JESUS.
However, we see in Genesis that Lot’s wife wasn’t committed to the journey. She didn’t make haste and flee as God had said. Instead she hesitated, looked back, (taking her eyes off of trusting God) and became a pillar of salt.
Also, we see that when the 10 spies were sent out from the wilderness, only Caleb and Joshua trusted that God could overcome the giants. Although, the other spies and the people they were leading had seen God’s miracles, they still didn’t trust Him. So they wandered for 40 years in the wilderness until they died off. They had not been committed to the journey. Only Caleb, Joshua and those under 20 years of age were able to step over into the land of Caanan.
I was also reminded of a funny hunting story that Tim and I got to experience. We had headed out to Summersville Lake one morning. When we got to the boat ramp it was so foggy that we couldn’t see across the lake, however, we knew the lake like the back of our hand so we decided to go to our hunting spot anyway. “We were committed to our own journey”… (there was also a man at the boat ramp waiting patiently in his truck.)
We headed up to the lake, past the dusk to dawn light and all we could see was the little light at the front of our boat. Tim was pretty sure that all he had to do was follow the bank until we could see the light at the marina and then we’d know where to turn. It was going great for a while, until we couldn’t see the light at the boat ramp shining anymore, then …..well, we just kept going and going until Tim said,”We should have seen the light at the airport or marina by now.” I started to panic a bit. We were in the middle of the lake, in the dark! What if we sink? Are we lost? I kept chattering which started to make Tim panic, so he basically said “woman be quiet!” Finally we saw a big light! Peace came over us, we’re in love again and on our way to our hunting spot. As we got closer to the light, we realized that we had just made a huge circle and had come right back to the boat ramp where our truck was parked! We busted out laughing and decided to wait for the fog to lift. I bet the guy in the truck laughed at us the whole time!
This was a great reminder of what can happen when you take your eyes off of the light of Christ. Things may go ok for a while but you slowly start going off course without even realizing it and eventually lose your trust in God. The darkness can become a scary place and whether we are aware of it or not, others are watching us too.
So the phrase “Commit to the Journey” fits in all areas of our life, starting with our relationship with Jesus Christ………
Life is hard at times, but God is in control all the time! We don’t have to be afraid of what the New Year holds, we simply need to keep our eyes focused on the light of Christ and put our trust in Jesus.
Psalm 3:5-6 says 5I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. 6I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.
I hope that this will encourage and strengthen you in your personal journey and strengthen us as an Outdoor Ministry. God has shown in his word that His blessings will come to those who are committed to Him. Let’s commit to being a shining light to those who are lost out there wandering around in the darkness.
Are you prepared to do what God has called you to do in 2019? Commit to the journey!
By Kari Mihal, Chairman Almost Heaven Archers
Since we are starting a New Year, how many of you start the year off with a New Year’s Resolution? Mine always has something to do with a new exercise program. I start off with a bang, then we start traveling for Almost Heaven Archers critter dinners and my nutrition starts going downhill.
Recently I started a new program and during the intense parts the trainer kept repeating the phrase “Commit to the Journey.” I do not know why, but I couldn’t quit repeating that over and over in my mind.
I felt like there was something that God wanted me to think about and to share. As my thoughts started rolling I began to think about how, as a hunter, we commit to our hunt. We get all of our gear ready, make plans, make an effort to scout, and then harvest an animal. But it doesn’t stop there. We have to track that animal whether it runs up hill or down. Next we have to field dress it, drag it home, and then process the meat. We don’t just leave them lay, we follow through. The blessing is on the meal plate, in the freezer, or sometimes hanging on the wall.
That phrase isn’t just for fitness programs or hunters though. God also reminded me of Proverbs 16:3 “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” Here are a few examples of those in the bible that stayed “Committed to the Journey”: Mary and Joseph, Noah, Abraham and Lot, Caleb and Joshua and of course, JESUS.
However, we see in Genesis that Lot’s wife wasn’t committed to the journey. She didn’t make haste and flee as God had said. Instead she hesitated, looked back, (taking her eyes off of trusting God) and became a pillar of salt.
Also, we see that when the 10 spies were sent out from the wilderness, only Caleb and Joshua trusted that God could overcome the giants. Although, the other spies and the people they were leading had seen God’s miracles, they still didn’t trust Him. So they wandered for 40 years in the wilderness until they died off. They had not been committed to the journey. Only Caleb, Joshua and those under 20 years of age were able to step over into the land of Caanan.
I was also reminded of a funny hunting story that Tim and I got to experience. We had headed out to Summersville Lake one morning. When we got to the boat ramp it was so foggy that we couldn’t see across the lake, however, we knew the lake like the back of our hand so we decided to go to our hunting spot anyway. “We were committed to our own journey”… (there was also a man at the boat ramp waiting patiently in his truck.)
We headed up to the lake, past the dusk to dawn light and all we could see was the little light at the front of our boat. Tim was pretty sure that all he had to do was follow the bank until we could see the light at the marina and then we’d know where to turn. It was going great for a while, until we couldn’t see the light at the boat ramp shining anymore, then …..well, we just kept going and going until Tim said,”We should have seen the light at the airport or marina by now.” I started to panic a bit. We were in the middle of the lake, in the dark! What if we sink? Are we lost? I kept chattering which started to make Tim panic, so he basically said “woman be quiet!” Finally we saw a big light! Peace came over us, we’re in love again and on our way to our hunting spot. As we got closer to the light, we realized that we had just made a huge circle and had come right back to the boat ramp where our truck was parked! We busted out laughing and decided to wait for the fog to lift. I bet the guy in the truck laughed at us the whole time!
This was a great reminder of what can happen when you take your eyes off of the light of Christ. Things may go ok for a while but you slowly start going off course without even realizing it and eventually lose your trust in God. The darkness can become a scary place and whether we are aware of it or not, others are watching us too.
So the phrase “Commit to the Journey” fits in all areas of our life, starting with our relationship with Jesus Christ………
Life is hard at times, but God is in control all the time! We don’t have to be afraid of what the New Year holds, we simply need to keep our eyes focused on the light of Christ and put our trust in Jesus.
Psalm 3:5-6 says 5I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. 6I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.
I hope that this will encourage and strengthen you in your personal journey and strengthen us as an Outdoor Ministry. God has shown in his word that His blessings will come to those who are committed to Him. Let’s commit to being a shining light to those who are lost out there wandering around in the darkness.
Are you prepared to do what God has called you to do in 2019? Commit to the journey!
By Kari Mihal, Chairman Almost Heaven Archers
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