Outdoor Truths: Confidence is key
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Hunters and fishermen will tell you about the importance of confidence. It is really a major part of the battle when it comes to patience and persistence. For instance, if I know I have always caught fish in a certain area; I will fish that area slower and with a greater awareness of an imminent bite. I also must have confidence in the bait I’m using. It can be the latest and greatest invention, but without my added confidence it’s most likely to find an unused section in the bottom of my tackle box. And what can I say about confidence when it comes to boredom? The two cannot survive together. One will always push the other into the corner of the boat. In hunting, confidence comes from knowing you are in the right place and that at any time you might have the opportunity for a shot. It causes you to get to the woods early, stay late, and forgo lunch. Confidence brings excitement. What we all must remember, however, about confidence is that it is the byproduct of something else – knowledge. Confidence can never stand on its own. It must have something to prop it up. That something is knowledge. Therefore, if our knowledge is unfounded then our confidence will be as well. You can see how important it is then, to know the truth. In hunting, the scenario might go like this. We set a stand in the same place we did last year without scouting. Last year the acorns were plentiful and the deer abundant. We get to the stand before light, excited about the possibilities. Our confidence is out the roof. As daylight exposes the trees around us, we begin to gaze at each one and find out none have acorns. Immediately, the confidence we had earlier now becomes doubt, discouragement, and distrust. No matter how much confidence we may have in that area, the truth says different.
As a Christian, my confidence doesn’t need to come from the circumstances or situations around me. If I were to only look at the bad things that happen to me from an earthly perspective, I would have no confidence in my ability to overcome them. And conversely, when good things happen, I would have the needed confidence to continue. But my confidence must come from something less fickle than the good or bad circumstances around me. It must come from the truth about God found in the scriptures. If you and I will look at the events in our lives in the light of scripture, we can have confidence we have, not that where we may be sitting on that day, we are in the right place.
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– Gary has three books that are compilations of the articles he has written for nearly 15 years. He also speaks at game dinners and men’s groups for churches and associations. You can contact him at gary@outdoortruths.org.
