Outdoor Truths

When I'm bow hunting, one of the first things I do is range distances, so I don't have to do it when(if) a deer shows up. After ranging these distances, I find a marker to remind me of what that distance is. The second thing I do (and do it throughout the hunt) is visualize where and how a deer might show up - and how I would respond. I think about angles. I look at obstacles. And I visualize how I will have to maneuver how I'm sitting in order to position myself for a shot. I will also raise my bow to simulate how it all could go down. Every hunter does this. It sounds simplistic and even immature, but what we do is pretend. Probably the same thing we did as a kid. Yeah, I know that doesn't sound too professional, but that's exactly what it is. It just pretending a desired or potential situation. And the truth is, if I have visualized (pretended) it enough, when reality comes, the chances are I will be less surprised, less uncertain, and more confident. And if done repeatedly, I will drown out negative thoughts and doubts that will flood my mind during a real encounter. Visualizing or pretending is not faking it until you make it. It's visualizing or pretending what you already know and who you already are. Because there are voices and past situations that are always there to try to tell you something different.

Pretending is a great tool - in life - and as a Christian. It allows us to feed our minds the truth about who we are, whose we are, and the truth about our circumstances, until the encounter comes. Let me explain. Right now, you feel like God has forgotten about you, that He's nowhere to be found, and even that He doesn't care. That's what you "feel." But you "know" that's not the truth. You know it from what the scriptures say and from your past experiences, and from the present and past experiences of others. Your feelings cause doubt, uncertainty, and a loss of confidence. But because you know, you pretend. You visualize. You imagine. But not because of fantasy. Because of reality. Here's how that looks. When you're in the season of doubt, you pick up your Bible. You range the distance it covers and begin pretending with sentences like these. "God has not forgotten about me." "God has never left me and will never leave me." "God cares about my life and all that I'm going through." "God loves me because He just can't help it." And say these and do these not because you're pretending to have a hope-so possibility, but because you have been bombarded with lies that have affected how you feel. As hard as it may be right now, start pretending what you already know is a reality.

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