Be Still

The Man Minute- Sixty second investments in Christ like manhood

Mallards by the dozens were circling consistently overheard. I was standing belt-deep in buck brush on the Mississippi delta. It was the first of a two day pastors retreat, one where I anticipate every year the opportunity to speak encouragement into the kindred of my fraternity. A soul brother he's been to me, Jeff Eaton was stationed to my left running duck talk along with our guide, Kevin Drewry. We were experiencing a slight problem in that these consistent bands of ducks were wanting to land in front of us, but they'd never quite commit, staying right at the back door of gun range. After about 20 minutes of this riddle, the deep well of Kevin's duck knowledge spoke up as he told our group, "Hey guys these ducks want to come in this hole. I think we're just talking too much. Let's go silent and see what they do." Five minutes later the experiment was put to the test. A group of green heads lock down, come down, and we send feathers flying. While Jeff's dog, Rev, and Kevin's dog, Ada, were fulfilling their life's calling on the retrieve, it occurred to me that silence can often be your best friend.
 
I have said many times that the average turkey hunter simply calls too loud and too often. If a strutter is coming, often the worst thing you can do is break the silence. He's already doing what you want him to do ... he's committed. I'm not a long-term veteran of duck hunting, but I've noticed behavior in my brothers who are that tells me that working a duck and working a tom can often have a lot in common. If he's coming, let him come until you sense otherwise.

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Staring at the blue clear sky as the sun was sinking the thoughts of my heart were that we often interpret God's silence as a signal that something's gone wrong. Some duck hunters would have thought that we were simply out of position. The truth was that we were in the perfect spot, yet the noise of our gentle calling had become our enemy. 
 
It's very true that the voice of the Father goes silent when there's unrepentant sin in our lives, thus He sends silence to force us to deal with the issue. However, there are times when His silence is His designed creation to grab our attention, letting us know that we have allowed our lives to become filled with chatter that is drowning out what we need to hear from Him. If we could learn to value the quiet, we'd see, and we'd hear, those things that cannot be contained in the midst of noise.
 
Silence, in many cases, can be God's gift to you.  Be still, and know that I am God. 
Psalm 46:10 - 
 
 www.jasoncruisespeaks.com and www.outdoorministrynetwork.com

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