The Deer's Choice

Wildlife writter John K. Terres was enjoying the company of a group of timber cutters in a January day, and the snow was two feet deep, with drifts reaching six feet. Having stopped for lunch, the men were standing in a loose circle around an open fire, eating and talking.

One of the men suddenly called for silence. From the distant but unmistakable sound of baying, the men guessed that hounds were after a deer. In deep snow dogs can wear a deer down and kill it with relative ease. The hounds seemed to be coming in their direction, and the men, most of whom were also hunters, instinctively reached for the ends of large sticks that they had placed into the open fire. They waited silently as the fire crackled.

A doe burst from the evergreens into the clearing. She was breathing heavily and bleating pitifully. The dogs came right behind her. In the natural order of the forest there seemed little hope for the doe. The deer struggled with each bound through the deep snow. She looked up, and for the first time seemed to realized the presence of the men and the fire. With no time to lose, she made what appeared to be an instinctive decision to act in a way that defies ordinary reasoning. Lunging toward the men, she slipped between two of them, and stopped by the fire within the circle. She was willing to throw herself on the mercy of men before she would trust herself to the mercy of the dogs. It was the right choice.

The men used their sticks to beat away the dogs, sending them howling back into the forest. The doe waited a moment by the fire, catching her breath. Then she moved slowly and deliberately back into the woods. John Terres refers to the doe’s behavior as “perhaps a wild terror-ridden reasoning.” What do you think?

A real enemy stalks each of us, “seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). And we cannot rely on our own strength, either to out-run him or to out-smart him. Our only hope is to move close to the Son of God, who will do battle in our behalf with that old dog, the devil.

A Word from Our Creator:

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28.