This devotional comes from the Southern Christian Sportsman's website.
Is it worth it?
Do you ever wonder why people who love the outdoors so often talk about God? As
sportsmen, doesn't it seem like God just speaks your "language"? God even chose to be born
outside...ever thought about that? Is it because spending time in His creation lends itself to
spending time with Him? Maybe. Maybe He just understands what you're doing better than
anyone else.
Have you ever tried to explain to your spouse why you wake up at 3:30 in the cold to hunt
ducks? Have you ever explained to someone why you'd risk climbing 50 feet up a tree for a
better shot at a deer? Has someone ever looked at you, scratching their head, wondering why
you keep casting that reel when you haven't caught a thing all day? What would you tell them?
It's the prize.
That limit of birds, that trophy buck, that trout that tipped the scales. You know the one – that
prize that causes an otherwise camera-shy man to snap 47 photos of himself holding his
trophy from every possible angle. My husband once took 23 photos of a bonefish. Apparently
it was a rare catch and we had to properly document the occasion by taking a photo of the
bonefish from the side, the bonefish from the other side, Jim and the bonefish, Shannon and
the bonefish, Jim and Shannon and the bonefish.....
But it's just a fish, right? It's just a couple of birds. Who hasn't seen a deer? No, you would
explain, it was worth it.
Our walk with God is not different. Someone who does not understand you would ask why you
would waste a perfectly good Sunday morning in worship? Why would you risk going to
ravaged and oppressed parts of the world to tell people about Christ? Why would you waste
time reaching out to that wretched person over and over again? What's the use? Why do you
do it?
The prize.
The prize of showing God's love to another soul. The prize of thankfulness and praise and
peace and hope. The prize of redemption. The prize of faith. The prize of forever.
Is it sometimes uncomfortable? Yes. Is it risky? It can be. Do your efforts often seem futile?
Definitely.
Is it worth it?
It's the only prize that matters.
"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to
win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14
Have a great week,
Jody
