The Pastor’s Blog – BUFALLOED

What an amazing sight – a wild buffalo in the grass along the side of the highway! On a recent trip up the Alaska Highway to Whitehorse, we saw several of these big fellows enjoying a small patch of dirt, dusting themselves to keep the bugs off of them.

As I was reviewing pictures from our trip and saw this photo my wife snapped I was reminded of an expression that I have not heard for a long time: “Buffaloed.” It means to mystify, or baffle or confuse someone. For instance, I was buffaloed by the price of gasoline: the further north I went, the more isolated the community, the cheaper gas got. Here on the island we are being charged $1.24 per litre, while in Fort Saint John gasoline was down to $.99 per litre. I was buffaloed by the logic of that.

Today we have so much happening all around us, from the battle with COVID and natural disasters to political unrest and violence. Television and Internet reports bombard us with images and spins on every event, leaving many of us “buffaloed.” It is hard to know what the truth is, for all news is a presentation of somebody’s perspective on what is happening. Because negative images and stories “sell,” so much of what we see in the media is very depressing. I am hearing of good, sensible people becoming frightened, confused and … buffaloed.

Scripture often tells us, “Do not be deceived!” (i.e. Matthew 24:4, Galatians 6:7, James 1:16, 2 Timothy 2:13, etc.) Jesus knew we could be “buffaloed” by all the voices around us, leaving us unsettled, anxious, and even fearful.

I like the King James Version of Isaiah 26:3: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” When we are getting buffaloed by all the news reports and YouTube posts and emails telling us yet some more bad news, why not heed the words of this verse and turn our minds towards God. Maybe turn off the television or computer and pick up a Bible. Take time to pray instead of fretting. When we do this, God promises to bring to our hearts and minds peace. As we trust that God is still in control, that we are still in His care, and His love never fails us, we can find perfect peace. I’ll take that!

– Pastor Gary


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