Daniel Boone, the American frontiersman, was born on this day in 1724.

Even as a boy Daniel Boone was training for his future as a man of the wild. Growing up in the Pennsylvania countryside, the young boy made friends with the Indians living nearby and learned the habits of the wildlife. At age 19, Boone fought in the French and Indian War, where he met John Finley—a hunter who had explored some of the western wilds and who filled the young man with dreams of exploring the land for himself.

It wasn’t until 1767, when Daniel was 33 and married, that he set out to explore the uncharted territory that is now Kentucky. It took Daniel and his companions two years to travel and explore one end of Kentucky. On later trips Boone worked to clear the Wilderness Road and establish a settlement that became known as Boonesborough.

At age 64 Boone set out again—this time for the Missouri region. As he paddled by in his canoe, folks would ask him, “Why are you leaving Kentucky?” to which Boone replied, “Too crowded.”

John the Baptist was another man who felt most comfortable in the wilderness. John ate insects and wild honey, dressed in camel hair, and lived alone in the desert. Far from any distractions, John could hear God’s instructions. And his unconventional manner certainly caught the people’s attention. What better way to point to the coming of the Messiah?

John was confident of what God wanted him to do. He prepared people for the coming of the Lord: “Someone is coming soon who is far greater than I am” (Mark 1:7).

Take a lesson from John. You don’t have to eat bugs or live in the desert. But you can reduce the distractions in your life that keep you from hearing God’s voice clearly. And you can introduce people to Jesus.

This messenger was John the Baptist. He lived in the wilderness and was preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had turned from their sins and turned to God to be forgiven (Mark 1:4).

To Do

Go out in the backyard or a nearby park and spend some time in a place where you are away from distractions. Listen for God speaking to you.

Also on this day

1795—James K. Polk, the 11^th president of the United States, was born.

1865—Warren G. Harding, the 29^th president of the United States, was born.

1989—Carmen Fasanella retired after 68 years and 243 days of taxicab service in Princeton, New Jersey.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.