Though many years apart, James Hampton learned similar lessons about God, first through a cancer battle and later when he harvested a 150-inch buck on a hunting trip.
James and his twin brother Chad, now both pastors, grew up in a Christian home and were early followers of Jesus — and quick studies in the deer stand, too. As kids, hunting was a hobby that quickly blossomed into something more, and ultimately became the vehicle for their evangelistic mission today.
“During my wife’s cancer battle, God really spoke to both of us through that battle,” James said during a recent appearance on CBN’s “Faith in Culture” podcast, noting he and his wife were particularly drawn to James 1:2-3, where it’s written, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow” (NLT).
He continued, “That’s what God does through the waiting, through the trials, through the hard times, and definitely through the cancer battle that my wife went through. He really created perseverance in us, and it’s the same way in hunting.”
At first, that may seem like a peculiar connection — particularly to people who have never hunted.
But, as James said, “there’s a lot of waiting involved in hunting.” The same is true, at times, of waiting for God’s answers to prayer.
The preacher explained he put in more than 100 hours of waiting in the tree stand and, once the timing lined up just right, it was only a matter of seconds — 10, to be exact — before it was all over: he and Chad finally nabbed a 150-inch buck.
“It’s the same way on our hunt for God,” said James. “There’s so much waiting and patience and perseverance.”
As guys with a knack for hunting, they feel naturally at home using sportsman’s language to understand their faith. In fact, their organization, Huntin’ the Truth Ministries, was born out of that correlation.
King David’s writing in Psalm 14:2 has become an anchor for their ministry. In it, he wrote, “The Lord looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God” (NLT).
The Hampton twins, co-authors of the new devotional, “100 Days of Strength for Hunters,” interpret David’s writing through their passion for hunting. Strong’s Concordance defines “seek” as “investigate,” “enquire,” “study,” “practice,” and “follow.”
“God looks down from heaven on all of us, the sons of men, to see if there are any who understand or any who hunt for Him,” James said.
It was James’ wife’s fight against cancer that God used to bring that Psalm to James’ mind. He said, “[I was] hunting for my own plan for so long.” It wasn’t until he reached the end of himself, he said, that James found himself in the tree stand one night, where he started talking to God about his fears and frustration.
When he’s out hunting, James said, he always carries a small camo Bible in his backpack. He opened the Scriptures and God guided him to Psalm 14.
“It was that night God kind of slapped me across the face and made me realize … that He wanted me to hunt for Him like I hunt for deer,” James recalled. “He wants us all to hunt for Him, to search for Him, to seek for Him. … And I knew what He was talking about, because I knew how much of a diehard hunter I was and how much passion I had for hunting and how many hours I put in for hunting.”
He added, “God was telling me, ‘I want you to do the same thing: I want you to hunt for Me that hard. Seek Me that hard, with all your heart.'”
Listen to our full conversation in the “Faith in Culture” podcast episode above.
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