The Elephant on your Feet

Sometimes I feel like an elephant is sitting on my legs, keeping me from moving, even from squirming. I’m stuck, and I can’t seem to get out from under the trial at hand. I try to wiggle my toes, but they’ve fallen asleep and now hurt. I try to push the elephant off, but how laughable is that? Then I try to coax the elephant to move over. I whisper and I cajole, I try to trick him into walking onto another person’s feet, but he seems to prefer mine.

The elephant is in my life to stay, and there’s nothing I can do about it.

So I finally relax and accept my elephant knowing that sooner or later, that particular elephant will get tired of this same position and I’ll be able to move along a few steps.

Until the next elephant finds me and sits on my legs, and keeps me from moving, even from squirming.

You get the picture. Our lives are full of trials that seem too big, too hard, too inconceivable, and just plain too heavy. We try everything to move them. We pray, hard, we promise God our kids lives, we pout, and some of us even cry. Nothing, just nothing, seems to impress God enough to move those trials off of us. We feel sorry for ourselves, we almost give up.

But then we stumble upon a truth like this one from II Corinthians 4:7-12.

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed, but not driven to despair, persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”

Here are some truths about trials:

1. Our trials are meant to reveal God’s Power

2. Our trials are not meant to destroy us

3. Our trials are not meant to last forever

4. Our response to our trials is meant to impact others

5. Our trials are meant to remind us that it’s not about us

We are part of a bigger story. Paul got it, and I’m doing my best to get it too!

Love the elephant on your feet. Get to know him and learn as much from him as you possibly can. Someday he’ll walk away.  Your legs will be stronger, and people will ask.

“How did you last this whole time with an elephant on your feet?”

And you’ll be able to tell them what you finally figured out. The elephant didn’t stay because he wanted to. Someone else was directing every one of the elephant’s moves.

His name is Jesus.

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