A Good Report
By Joel Raygor
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Today I picked up 100 pounds of Urea from the local farmer's elevator for my brassica food plot. The attendee asked what the Urea was for and when I said it was for my deer food plot, immediately there were questions which were kind of as follows:
Attendee: Do you think this new rifle law will hurt the deer population?
Me: I don't think it will make much difference and personally it won't make any difference for me, as all of my shooting is 100 yards or less.
Attendee: Is the rifle less safe?
Me: If hunters follow the 10 commandments of gun safety, there will be no difference. In fact the rifle is more accurate and might be safer than a shotgun. Last year over 186,000 Minnesota deer hunters hit the woods, and only one 25 year old man accidentally shot himself in the thigh.
Attendee: What do you think about CWD?
Me: I think CWD is real, but I am not concerned about it. CWD was first discovered in 1967 and back then Minnesota records show statewide harvest numbers at under 60,000. Last year the Minnesota harvest was 186,368 with an estimated state herd of 1.4 million whitetail deer. Every year my neighbors and I count the road kills on a 1.5 mile stretch of the county road in front of our homes. Last year there were 31 road kills and hunters in the same area took 28 deer. Since 2020 the cars have beat the hunters every year.
Attendee: What about EHD?
Me: EHD was first reported in Minnesota in 2018. The DNR now estimates about 20 EHD deaths in the state per year, but they say they don't even bother to track those numbers.
This young man asked questions that all showed his fear of what might happen. There was a negative feeling for everything and fear showed in his line of questions. What a shame to go through life looking at what might happen… We need to look to what God has planned.
Since that conversation, I've been thinking about how we as humans often just see the bad in every situation and rob ourselves of the joy of life. In Numbers chapter 13 we read where Moses sent one leader from each tribe into Canaan. The 12 men explored the region for forty days. They returned with massive pomegranates, figs, a huge bunch of grapes carried on a pole and giant clusters of fruit, confirming that the land God had promised them was simply fabulous. However, the majority of these spies, ten to be exact, gave a fearful report of strong people and walled cities. Caleb and Joshua, the minority trusted God and urged the people to go up and take the land. In fact Joshua and Caleb felt so positive about God giving them the land that they tore their clothes, telling the community that the land was exceedingly good and that God would safely give it to them.
What do you see when you look around? Do you have a good report for the future or is everything headed south? Is your hope in your bank account, your government or are you trusting God for tomorrow?
Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
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