Thursday, April 28, 2011

Do Elephants Jump?


Elephant experts have been asked on many occasions whether or not it is true that elephants jump? Many feel that a mature elephant's weight is far too much to support landing back on all fours, and their legs are designed more for strength than leaping.

S.K. Ettingham said, ". . . because of its great weight, an elephant cannot jump or even run in the accepted sense since it must keep one foot on the ground at all times."

Many go on to say of elephants...'Why bother jumping when you can walk through or around just about everything in your natural habitat.'

'Approaching Storm'
(Forest Hill, MD)
I have had to ask myself on many occasions why I continue to jump around?
By that I am referring to the tough moments when the Sun is not shining in my world and the storms continue to roll in...I want to 'jump' on a spiritual plane and fly somewhere easier.
When it comes to cross-bearing time, why be so quick to 'jump' out from under the weight of responsibility?

This happens for one reason alone: 
I don't keep one foot grounded in God's promises
The promise that with Him, I can do all things.

Most animals have the ability to run and jump in order to be able to evade predators that might hunt them. The elephant has no predator other than man who might slip in and take their life.
We have one adversary that wants to steal, kill, and destroy us. Yet scripture teaches us that He has no power over us unless we give it to him. If only we realized how BIG we are in Christ! 

'Philly Phanatic'
(Philadelphia, PA)
All the elephant has to do is look at its reflection in a pond to see how large he/she is. And all we have to do is look at our reflection in His word and through the dialogue of prayer. . .
Daniel saw it.
David understood it.
Gideon believed it.

When predators showed up and tried to alter the direction that God was taking them, they did what elephants do - they trudged forward. There was no lion too scary, no giant too large, and no army too strong to stop the force of God's power.

As God's child, you were not meant to 'jump'...you were meant to keep at least one foot grounded in His promise and trudge completely through to your purpose. Elephant-sized faith doesn't jump!

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