Buck Fever

Fall is my favorite time of the year!  The colors are eccentric, and the change from hot weather to a more mild temperature is exhilarating.  I also enjoy football, especially the camaraderie and rivalry that can be so much fun.  There is, however, a season that I look forward to even more every year – deer season.  

I’ve always participated in deer season, but my mindset has evolved over time.  Early in my hunting career,  it seemed as if it was an obligation to provide food for the table.  I treated it as a chore.  As I have become closer to God in my daily walk, it gives me greater pleasure just to connect with nature and to be a part of it.  My evolving view of nature is that it is an overflowing of God’s love and blessings.

Last season was probably the pinnacle in the mindset change for me.  It was a very “dry” season when it came to seeing deer.  I saw some pretty good ones but so briefly that I did not have time to react.  The only two deer I harvested were late in the season and within thirty seconds of one another.   I distinctly remember my thoughts that day.  I was engaging in some type of farm work and was very late getting to the woods.  I decided to take a stroll and just enjoy God’s beautiful handiwork before the day ended.  I was not greatly concerned about being quiet.  As I was strolling up a little hill,  I noticed a huge Mullein plant.  Many consider it a weed, but Native Americans used it to aid in infections, diarrhea, and respiratory issues.  I began thanking God for that little provision.  As I was leaning over, stroking the fuzzy leaf, I heard a loud crashing sound coming toward me through the woods.  It was apparent that it was becoming necessary to think fast. I rolled over, clicked off my safety, and dug the butt of my Ruger 25-06 in the ground with just enough time to give off a fatal shot as the doe passed over the top of me!  Her legs folded and came to a skidding stop a few feet past me.  As you can imagine, my nerves immediately began to overcome me.  Without a moment to recover, I heard another crashing sound coming through the woods toward me!    All I saw were antlers and smoke coming from the nostrils of the buck.  I once again rolled over and pulled a shot.  The deer was grazed, and once it was over the top of me,  I had to stand and freehand a shot when it was past me.  In a matter of seconds, the whole experience was over.

Take a moment to imagine my state of being at this time.  A phenomenon called “buck fever” completely consumed my whole body.  I had never experienced the feeling so extremely!  Buck fever is a combination of literal cold chills, fear, excitement and nervousness at the same moment.  Your teeth are rattling uncontrollably, and it can consume your body and almost render you helpless for a brief time.   As my body began to calm down, I noticed my head was lying on the Mullein plant.  My first thought was that I might have to try out the Native American remedy for diarrhea.  When I determined my bodily functions were under control, I continued to lie there and relish the fact that God just gave me the hunt of the decade and provided for my family.

Nevertheless, as powerful as “buck fever” may seem, there is a force far stronger at work in our lives.  It is an energy that frequently explodes and injures everyone with whom it comes in contact.  This power that I’m referring to is not limited to a particular season of the year, nor to a select group of people called “hunters.”  No, this destructive energy indwells and, at times, overrides every single member of the human race.  Its name — the sinful nature.

But God has not left us helpless.  He has provided a “helper.”  There is someone who will take up residence in our lives and begin bringing the sinful nature under control.  If we have truly trusted Jesus Christ as our Savior, the Holy Spirit dwells inside of us and seeks to help us live lives that are pleasing to the Lord.  As the apostle Paul told the believers in Rome, “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.  And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ” (Romans 8:9).  Put your full trust in Jesus,  and allow Him to have complete control over your life.  Even He can overcome the severest case of “Buck Fever.”