Develop your biblical skills

Biblical tracking...

 

 

 

 

2 Timothy 2:15

Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman who needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

When studying the Word of God I have adopted a similar skill set to understand the message as I use when in the field tracking wildlife.

Animal tracking lures us on an amazing journey into the world of nature, and encourages us to open all of our senses to its subtle clues hidden everywhere. 

Developing skills that teach you to track animals as an interpretive art one that sharpens our awareness of nature and deepens our understanding of our own behaviour.

The same routines that make for success in tracking can be easily carried over to our spiritual walk, enhancing the quality of our lives.

Trackers speak a language which is based not only on a self taught  knowledge of tracks, trails and sign but also on a rich foundation in the natural history and characteristics of animals and the ethnobotany of plants.

Building the essential background for sensory awareness and knowledge of land needed to track animals.

Tracking is a profound, life-affirming activity: I feel more at home in the woods than in my own home.

 

Begin at home

​If you want to learn how to track our foxes, deer, badgers and other native animals,

where on Earth do you start?

First things first: it’s vital to understand what this ancient craft actually involves. Spotting the prints of a dog fox on a muddy path is a far cry from being able to interpret the animal’s intentions, let alone being able to follow it.

 

This is very applicable when studying the scriptures, there’s a vast difference between reading the Word of God & meditating on them.

 

Joshua 1:8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

 

Real tracking (as opposed to the alluring version you so often read about and see on TV) is not a glamorous activity. In fact, it’s quite dull to watch.

A tracker hardly speaks, must think deeply and use his or her senses to their fullest in order to read the mood of the landscape and pick up the tiniest of traces.

When tracking or studying the Holy Scriptures always be honest, the truth is there if you don’t understand or can interrupt that which lies before you seek the help of others.

It is the difficult signs and traces that have the most to teach us.

All bluffing does is generate unnecessary doubt about your skills & ability.

 

Above all, tracking is a fascinating way to study animals – it gets you under their skin. It is a particularly useful skill in Britain, where so many mammals are nocturnal.

 

Psalm 119:115 Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.

 

Reading the signs

When tracking, my aim is to find, interpret and follow a trail of clues that record the passing of an animal through the landscape. In places, there will be clear footprints that can identify the species – and sometimes even its sex.

The creature’s speed and gait will also be recorded, revealing its mood and intention. Where the trail is located within the landscape – along the brow of a hill or beside a stream hidden within a valley, for example – may indicate purpose, confidence, fear or even status.

Most of the time, I will be following only partial tracks or the tiniest hints of the animal’s passing: a bent grass stem, a strand of hair, subtle disturbances in the leaves on the forest floor.

 

When reading scripture try and have the same mindset, looking at details most skip over, treading carefully on your walk of faith, can you see the writers point of view, do you know the geography, the history of the setting? All this can add a depth to your study.

 

Read the tracks

To me, a trail is rather like music. Its rhythm and tempo can tell me a lot about the animal’s state of mind. For instance, the fine details in a footprint can tell me how tired or fresh the animal I’m following is.

When I examine a track, I don’t just see a footprint; in my mind’s eye, I have an image of the animal that made it.

 

Have a spirit filled imagination, can you imagine the peace and tranquillity of the garden before the fall or can you feel the hairs on David’s neck rise as he approaches Goliath, the electricity of Yahweh coursing through his body? The Word is living let it give you insight to men and woman of God who walked this world.

 

Fantastic faeces

One of the tracker’s most vital skills is to be able to interpret any droppings that you find. There are many practical guides full of delightful illustrations of scats, spraint and dung, but looking at pictures and reading descriptions should be just your starting point.

As well as considering a dropping’s shape, colour, texture, smell and location. It’s amazing how much information is stored in poo.

Nothing is wasted,

many people pick and choose the scriptures that apply to them and their walk of faith but that's not how it works, it's not always pleasant it's not always fun but all scripture is applicable to our walk!

Inner calm

By now, it should hopefully be clear that studying the scriptures or tracking doesn’t involve dashing around – it’s a sober activity that demands a deep inner calm.

You need an almost meditative state of mind to piece together the jigsaw of clues.

Some of my best results come at night, darkness means I need to use a torch and this focuses my sight & concentration, just as we are to be  light in a dark world  we need to be careful about what we illuminate.

The call of the wild

Tracking is a life-long pursuit. It has taught me patience, determination and to listen to the song of the wild. It has sharpened my senses. Most important of all, tracking has given me deep respect for the animals I have been able to follow.

 

Some signs I’ve learnt on my journey:

Deer couches

These depressions & scrapes on  the forest floor show where deer have slept or been resting. They are often found under trees in places that provide a good view of the surrounding woodland. If you come across a couch, search it carefully for deer hair, especially when the animals are moulting between their winter and summer coats. Deer hair is very brittle and breaks easily when pulled.

Deer droppings

Look carefully at the shape of deer droppings, known as ‘fewmets’.

In fallow deer the base is rounded in females but indented in males. Don’t be shy: pick up the dung to have a proper look.

Fox scats

Any slightly raised feature in the landscape, including grass tussocks, rocks or tree stumps, are  good places to look for fox droppings. Their coloration reflects the animals’ diet: expect to see whitish-grey droppings in summer, when the diet of foxes is rich in calcium from bones. Fox scats also contain rabbit and rodent hair.

Badger hair and prints

The lower rungs of barbed wire fences frequently snag badger hair, which is typically long and strong, darker towards the end and with a very light tip. Badgers are like walking brushes: they leave a wide, undulating trail of footprints. These are very distinctive due to the long claws on the animals’ forefeet, used for digging up earthworms.

Rabbit fur

Spring and early summer is the peak breeding time for rabbits. You’ll often find the fur and blood shed during fierce battles between rivals, and may even come across injured individuals.

Egg shells

By examining the broken edge of an eggshell, you can often tell whether the nestling hatched successfully or fell victim to squirrels.

 

Signs  in creation surround us, if we pay attention Gods Word is full of the same details & answers. 

 

As God-trackers we are called to base our life’s track on not just the objective Word or just the subjective acts of the Spirit but upon both Word & Spirit.