08/23/2026
Learning to Read the Signs
By H. J. Thiel
A trapper looks at the world around them a little differently than most people. To the untrained eye, a dim trail through the woods may look like nothing more than a slight indistinguishable opening beneath the brush. A turned-over leaf, a small impression in the dirt, a broken twig, a change in temperature or change in the direction of the breeze, bone fur, or feather in s**t, or the alarm of jays not far off may all go completely unnoticed. But to the experienced trapper, those subtle signs tell a story.
Trappers have learned that the woods are constantly speaking. The challenge is learning how to discern what they are saying. Jesus once used a similar lesson when speaking to those who could recognize the signs in the sky but failed to recognize the spiritual signs right in front of them.
Matthew 16:2-3 (NKJV)
āWhen it is evening you say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red; and in the morning, it will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.
Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the sign of the times.ā
Long before modern weather forecasting, people learned to pay attention to the sky. A red evening sky could indicate one set of conditions, while a red morning sky could signal another. They had to learn to recognize a pattern. Jesus wasnāt condemning them for observing the weather. He was pointing out something much deeper. They had learned to discern physical signs but failed to discern spiritual ones.
There is a lesson here for every Christian.
A trapper doesnāt become good at reading sign simply by walking through the woods. He learns through experience. We study tracks, s**t, animal behavior, terrain, wind and countless other details that others overlook. Eventually, we begin to notice and see things we once couldnāt see.
The same is true spiritually.
Godās Word teaches us what to look for. It trains our eyes to recognize truth from lies, wisdom from foolishness, and Godās direction from the noise of the world around us. But discernment requires more than simply owning a Bible. We must spend enough time in Godās Word for His truth to become familiar to us.
The experienced trapper learns to stop and examine a faint track before moving on. Perhaps we should learn to do the same with our lives. Before listening to every voice, responding to every opinion, seizing every opportunity, or wondering in every direction the world offers, we should stop and ask:
What does Godās Word say?
The world may overlook or ignore the sign. The inexperienced may walk right past it. BUT the one who has learned to discern will stop, look closer, and understand that even the smallest sign can give us the direction that will change the outcome of our life.
God has given us His Word. We simply have to learn how to read the signs.
In its simplest form we learn how to do that by reading Godās Word daily.
Thatās what the good Lord has laid on my heart today from down here is Dixie Yāall. I hope everyone has a blessed Sonday ā Tight Chains
