Weekly Devotion October 2, 2023

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission

Bible Study Verse: Isaiah 30:21 

“And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” (ESV) 

Thoughts: I have been the proud owner of hearing aids for about 6 years. A big Gobbler, I have on my wall, instructed me that I needed them. I had been chasing this old wise Tom for a couple of weeks. He would walk the top of the ridge every morning, but he was always on the neighboring property and never would come to my calls. The morning that I took him, I sat up as close as I could get to him on the roost. He gobbled from the roost for what seemed like an hour after sunrise. He wasn’t in any hurry. I would do my best hen imitation and keep him interested until he flew down from the roost and stopped gobbling. The patience game began. I didn’t make a sound for at least 20 minutes and then finally yelped a few times and he answered immediately not that far away. He gobbled again on his own, so I knew he was fired up, but when he gobbled the third time it sounded like he had walked past me on the other side of the ridge. I thought to myself, “How did I miss seeing him?” I panicked a little thinking I had lost my opportunity. So I rolled from behind the tree onto my belly hoping to catch him behind me, to see nothing… I waited for a few minutes scanning the forest floor, and then I made a soft yelp, and he gobbles not 15 yards behind me, the original direction I had been facing. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him strutting and when he went behind a tree, I rolled back to my seat, which made him pop his head around the tree to look for the noise, and the 3 ½ inch magnum turkey load did the rest. 

Action Point: Because of my poor hearing, I wasn’t able to determine the direction of a turkey gobbling. When I am not focused on listening for God, I won’t be able to determine when He says, “This is the way, walk in it.” Seek after God in His Word, and through prayer, so you can determine His voice. 

Sportsman’s Tip of the Day: PROTECT YOUR HEARING! When I was young, I would shoot without hearing protection, and listen to loud music and now that I am older, I do everything I can to keep what hearing I have. Hearing aids are expensive.