Worship in the Woods

By Ben Smith:

There are mornings in the woods when the world feels stitched together with threads of mist and light, mornings when the woods seem less like a place and more like a presence. Hunters know these mornings well. They’re the ones that stay with you long after your hunting gear is packed away for the season. They’re the mornings when something settles inside you, something quieter and cleaner than the noise you carried in. Most people that don’t hunt only see it as an act of pursuit, a quest to kill something. But if you sit down with a hunter and ask them why they really do it, you’ll get a different response.

Before I continue, the thrill of the chase is very real. The feeling of pulling the trigger and the smell of gun powder is something that’s hard to rival. Whether it’s deer, ducks, turkeys, or anything in between, hunting is something that fuels a fire inside of you. But the end result is not the driving factor. It can’t be or you’ll always come home feeling empty. If you interview ten hunters right now and ask them what’s the best part about hunting I’m willing to bet that seven of them give you the same answer- it’s about something deeper than killing.

There is no phone in your hand, no calendar in your pocket, no expectation except to be present. In a world where every moment is consumed by alerts and obligations, there’s a freedom in that simplicity. And whether, or not, a hunter leaves the woods that day having taken an animal, they leave feeling lighter than when they entered. Being alone in the woods has a way of sifting our thoughts. I feel much smaller being in a landscape that has been here thousands of years before me and will be here thousands of years after I’m gone. But even with the connection you get with the wild, a lot of hunters find an even deeper connection when they are in the woods.

I’ve conversed with so many hunters over the years that talk about really diving into their spirituality in the woods. Given that it may be the most peaceful and quiet place that you can be, it makes sense. And what better place to seek the Creator of all things than in the midst of His creation? Jesus himself withdrew from crowds and noise to go and pray as scripture tells us in Mark 1:35. There are many times when I feel nearer to God in a deer stand than I do in a crowded church building. I’m not telling you to make a habit of skipping church on Sunday to go hunting, but I am telling you that you can certainly worship God from your deer stand. There’s a difference between hunting instead of worshipping and hunting as worship, and God knows where your heart is. Either way, the same God that meets you at the altar is the same God that will meet you on the creek bank if you seek Him.

There are several biblical principles that we can exercise from a ladder against a tree deep in the woods. The easiest, and most obvious, of these is patience. Romans 8:25 states, “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” Being a hunter could possibly be the best method possible to teach a person patience. And it’s not just waiting, it’s waiting with a positive mentality. Just as we are on a deer’s time when hunting, we are on God’s time in our daily life. 

Humility. One of my favorite scripture verses has always been 1 Peter 5:6- “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.” In the woods we are often reminded of just how small we really are. God controls the weather, the wind, and the wildlife. The next time you think you are something really special in the world try to change the wind direction with a whisper. We can’t, but God can.

Proverbs 25:28 states, “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” Hunting requires us to be disciplined. It requires us to use sound judgement and practice self-control. When I hear stories about hunters killing stuff that doesn’t go along with the seasons or follow a camp’s rules, I tend to think that person has a severe lack of self-control. If you cannot control yourself in the woods, the odds are high that you won’t control yourself in other areas of your life, either.

We are called to be good stewards of God’s creation. I believe that hunters are among the greatest conservationists in our country. Most hunters truly care about wildlife and maintaining a healthy population for the future. We are to respect life, as shown in Proverbs 12:10 (A righteous man regards the life of his animal). As hunters, we are tasked with using everything we can from that animal. After all, it gave its life for us, just as Christ did. 

And potentially the greatest biblical principle that can be practiced hunting is that of gratitude. Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to “Give thanks in all circumstances.” It doesn’t matter whether we kill a deer or catch a fish, we are to be thankful to God. King David wrote that God’s love endures forever and that we are to give thanks to the Lord. He reminds us that God made the great lights, the sun to govern the day, the moon and stars to govern the night. Isn’t it wonderful that we get to experience ALL of that sitting up against a tree? 

So, the next time you hit the woods for a hunt, be still. Don’t just listen for the footsteps of a deer but listen for God to speak to you. Be patient, humble yourself, and have self-control. And when you leave, be grateful for the breath in your lungs and use your voice to give thanks to the Creator of all things.