An Uncertain Sound

I decided to go for a walk in the woods behind my house. After a short walk, I ended up climbing up in the old tree house that is overlooking the creek. It was a beautiful fall afternoon with a gentle south breeze blowing. I started thinking about the varied sounds that I was hearing in the woods. The wind was rustling the leaves on the ground. Acorns were dropping onto the ground every few seconds. Occasionally I would hear the creaking sound of two tree limbs running against each other.


The woods produce a great variety of sounds. These sounds are strange and sometimes disturbing to the untrained ear. Many times, while deer hunting, I would hear what I thought was a deer walking through the woods, only to find out that it was an armadillo rooting around in the leaves. During an ice storm I keep hearing what sounded like gun shots in the woods behind my house. On later investigation I discovered that the noise was coming from trees that were breaking under the weight of their ice laden limbs.

The night time brings even more uncertain and sometimes frightening sounds. The eastern screech owl has a call that sounds just like a woman screaming! When a group of coyotes gather in the woods behind my house and start yelping, it makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck! I even had some new neighbors who called 911 when they first heard the coyotes!

My first night in the Amazon jungle was one that I will never forget. I was staying in a thatched roofed bamboo hut that was about 10 foot above the ground on stilts. The hut was directly under some type of fruit tree. All night long I heard the continual sounds of the tree's berries dropping on the hut's thatched roof, rolling down to the edge of the roof, and then after a second or so, the sound of them splattering on the ground. None of the jungle's night creature sounds were familiar to me. I wasn't sure if the sounds were coming from crickets, frogs, birds, or whatever! It seemed like hours had passed by before I finally drifted off to sleep.

In Bible time the sound of the trumpet was used to direct soldiers during a battle. The soldier's ears had to be trained to hear and interpret the sounds of the trumpet. I Corinthians 14:8 says "if the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?" The watchmen on the walls of the Bible time cities also used a trumpet to warn the people of impending danger.

There is another trumpet sound, talked about in the Bible, that nobody wants to miss! I Thessalonians 4:16 tells us that a trumpet sound will signal the second coming of Christ and that we will all rise to meet Jesus in the air! So don't be too disturbed by the various "uncertain sounds" of the woods but be on guard for that great and last trumpet call of Jesus!

Be On Guard

Members of the animal kingdom are continually on guard for their lives. Most of the members spend their entire existence running for their lives. Take a walk anywhere in the outdoors. As you walk along the path you are continually hearing a rustling in the weeds or a sound of flapping wing in the air, as the small animals scurry to get away from you. Larger animals detect you from a distance and sometimes disappear before you even get close to them. Animals use their various senses to detect the presence of their enemies.

Can you imagine living where you are continually on the run for your life? This is what the animal kingdom is all about. It is survival of the fittest. Almost every creature in the outdoors have some predator that they must continually be on guard against. Small bugs and insects are eaten by bigger insects. Big insects are eaten by small birds and mammals. The small birds and mammals are in turn eaten by raptors and larger mammals such as foxes and coyotes. The foxes and coyotes are continually running from humans. The same cycle occurs in the ocean with the various types and sizes of fish, mammals, and reptiles.

There are only a few species of animals that enjoy life without having to be on guard continually. The lion is considered to be the king of the jungle and one who is not afraid of any other animal but, when the lion gets old he is usually challenged and driven off by a younger and stronger male lion.

Fortunately the various members of the animal kingdom are given unique abilities that aid them in guarding their lives. If you observe a group of deer feeding in the woods, there is always at least one of the deer that is scanning the area for predators while the others are eating. Upon seeing, hearing, or smelling something that is not normal, the deer will stomp their front feet or snort loudly to warn the other deer of the impending danger. Squirrels seem to run about aimlessly but at the first sign of danger they will start barking loudly to warn their fellow species of some danger.

Sometimes there are multiple levels of danger that an animal must deal with. Recently I was walking down a trail in the woods. I spotted a deer coming down the trail from the opposite direction. The deer spotted me at about the same time and turned around and started a hasty retreat; however just before it got out of sight it turned back around and started running directly back toward me. The deer almost ran over me as it ran past me. I was bewildered by the deer's action until I saw a coyote chasing the deer! Evidently the deer felt that I was the lesser of the evils and decided to ignore me as it ran from the coyote!

In most communities of the world, humans do not share the animal kingdom's need to "be on guard continually", to survive. However Christians are taught to be continually on guard against the forces of evil. If you only go to church several time a year and rarely pray to God, you have nothing to worry about. Satan has you just where he likes you to be and will not disturb you at all. For those Christians who are living for God, attending church regularly, and praying to God on a daily basis, you must be on guard against Satan for spiritual survival.

The Bible has many scriptures that warn us to be on guard against the working of Satan. Luke 12:33 warns us to "watch out and be on guard against all kinds of greed" that can destroy our lives. In Acts 20:31 Paul warns us to "be on your guard" against people who will try to distort the truth. Again in I Corinthians 16:13 Paul warns us to "be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong; and do everything in love".

Just as members of the animal kingdom stay on guard and warn their fellow species of impending danger, we as Christians are also instructed to warn our fellow Christians of various dangers. Paul tells us in 2 Thessalonians 3:15 "if anyone does not obey our instructions... warn him as a brother". We need the support of our Christian brothers and sisters. Working together we can defeat the wiles of Satan and live an overcoming life for God!