Original: January 31, 2008
McMinnville, OR
13 " `I will surely strike my hands together at the unjust gain you have made and at the blood you have shed in your midst. 14 Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the day I deal with you? I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it. Ezekiel 22:13-14
My dad is the king of Buck Fever. As a kid hunting with dad was often more stressful than fun because of how excited he got when we were in a position to shoot. I could tell you story after hilarious story of dad losing it in front of anything with antlers! Most hunts started with me getting first shot, but ended in a rush of excitement, with dad shooting out from under me.
Because of dad’s little problem with Buck Fever, as an adult I gave him the nickname “Second Shot”. He gets so nervous that he almost always misses the first shot by punching the trigger instead of squeezing it. Truthfully, as a pre-teen I absolutely hated hunting deer with him because of the extreme pressure during one of his many episodes of Buck Fever. Confession time: On more than on one occasion I purposefully missed just so he could begin his Buck Fever barrage.
Like a Pavlovian Dog my anxiety has carried into my adulthood when hunting or shooting with other guys. When I target shoot with my rifle or bow (shot gunning technique is different) I find myself tempted to punch instead of squeeze the trigger, which makes all the difference in the world to the accuracy of the shot. Unless I fight to control my anxiety I will actually lose the control needed to slowly squeeze the shot. When I think about God’s question to Ezekiel, “Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the day I deal with you? (14)” I see the tragedy when men do not fear God.
God is patient in dealing with a man’s secret life of sin, maybe too patient (2 Peter 3:8-9). But make no mistake about it God does not ignore the sins of men. There will be a day of reckoning when God says, “I will surely strike my hands together.”
A man should fear that day ever happening.
When fear slaps a man in the face he loses the poise needed for precision. He blows the shot or punches the trigger instead of squeezing it, but man should not fear that crowd that is watching him as he should the God that is watching him (Hebrews 4:12). When he remembers that God is with him, in him (1 John 4:4, John 14:17), and knows everything about him he should get more than a little nervous. It should literally scare the Hell out of him. Paul told us to work out our salvation with “fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). Paul must have been reflecting back to that infamous road to Damascus (Acts 9) when God decided to “deal with (him).”
Men, do not hide your secret sin any longer. Deal with them before God deals with you
Instead of hiding sin a man should find other trusted men to confide in. Men who will call him out on sins and lift him out of its snares.
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16).
