Don’t Let a Missed Moment Define You

It happened incredibly fast. I was walking down a tree line by a cut corn field on the way to my stand when I saw a bruiser buck run a doe in heat over an incline in the field. I mean, he appeared out of nowhere. He stopped at 78 yards fully broadside just long enough for me to set off the sonic boom with my muzzleloader. He looked my way, then looked at her, and continued following her into the timber.

If misses were symphonies, in that moment, I’d have been a maestro. It was a beautiful tragedy.

As hunters we tend to remember the few times we missed instead of the many times we connected. Luke 22:54-62 details the story of Peter’s one big miss when he denied Jesus. I’ve always thought it ironic that, though he was arguably the strongest evangelistic preacher in the New Testament, most Christians remember Peter’s one bad day of denying Christ instead of remembering the amazing things he did in Christ’s name. I mean, I’ve never seen someone healed just from walking in my shadow (Acts 5:15); I’ve never walked on water (Matthew 14:22-36); and I’ve never watched thousands come to Christ in one single sermon (Acts 2:40-41). Peter not only saw those things, he did all those things.

Don’t let your misses define you. Jesus reinstated Peter to his ministry with just a few words (John 21:15-19), making Peter living proof that God’s grace can take a coward and turn him into a world changer.

Peter spoke from personal experience when he wrote, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8

Think It Through

Think back on a miss you’ve recently experienced in one of your life pursuits. What has it taught you about the heart of the God who calls you beyond the miss?

By Jason Cruise from the NIV Outdoorsman Bible.