Original: October 14, 2007
A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength… Proverbs 24:5
Have you ever had a thought that was at the forefront of your mind? No matter what you did you could not shake it. Like a song replaying itself in your mind, the thought reoccurs over and over again.
A predominant fear relaying itself during my wilderness hunt was, “Do not deplete your body of food or water.” Ironically I had to come off the mountain a day early because I ran out of food!
As the human body wears down it loses its capacity to move freely, be mentally engaged, and hunt effectively. This is why we hiked into our spot two days before the opener. The map showed no water source and I knew we would need to find one, which we did-barely. Furthermore, we needed time to rest and recover from our initial ascent. The combination of physically pushing your body to the max, carrying your camp on your back, living on way less than normal food intake, extreme weather conditions, and usually a substantial loss of sleep can cause the human body to slide into a place where all motivation, desire and hope is lost. Once a person begins a physical and psychological backsliding of momentum the hunt is in danger of ending prematurely. A hunt, mind you, that has usually taken years to apply for, months to save for, and countless hours of dreaming and planning.
I see this in life as well.
Our church has spent countless amounts of fiscal and human resources on programs for people who, through unwise life choices, have created a backward slide of theirs life’s momentum until it is out of control. One of my favorite programs in or church that helps people overcome inertia is called Celebrate Recovery. The first step of our recovery program is break through denial and admit one’s powerlessness. This admission is an acknowledgement that backwards momentum has taken the strength out of one’s life. Often times a life has spun so far out of control that even though a person wants help, seek help, and knows they need help they remain trapped in life of helplessness; a helplessness that may have began a lifetime ago through the compounding of unwise choices.
Proverbs 24:5 is right when it says, "A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge increases power" (NASB). Just as unwise choices create a downward spiral and a loss of forward momentum in a man’s life, the man who makes wise choices gains momentum in knowledge and power throughout life.
Men are a product of choices compounded over time.
Momentum is a force that drives a man’s life but whether that momentum is positive or negative is up to him. Our choices compounded over a lifetime will either lead us into despair and hopelessness or victory and strength.
It is truly your choice.
