“I Want an Elephant”
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“On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel: ‘O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalo.’ So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself onits enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a man. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!” (Joshua 10:12-14)
Recently I was reminded of a story that Beth Moore told in the “Believing God” video series. When Beth was about six and about to enter elementary school, she told her dear Aunt Wanda that she’d like a baby elephant to ride to school. She imagined the exact type of saddle she’d sit on. She’d have these jewels in her hair. The baby elephant would be decorated like so. It would just be really really cool in her six year old mind to go to school that way. (There was no thought of where she’d tie the elephant up, what it would do during the day, how to feed it, clean it, how to manage recess chaos, etc.)
Well, she didn’t get the elephant.
But her Aunt Wanda has a hoot every time she thinks of it and her heart would swell so much thinking how little Beth believed she could get her a baby elephant for the first day of school.
And then Beth brought us back to the present…do we believe in God enough to ask big crazy things of Him? Do we ever ask Him anything at all that would make Him toss His holy head back in laughter before saying, “My dear Child, I’m so happy you thought to ask Me such a thing. Here’s a better solution…one that won’t be quite as messy to deal with.”
Consider Joshua10:12-14. The Israelites were coming to the aid of a nation who deceived them, marching uphill through the night into battle the next morning. You could call it rough times. Then Joshua does something amazing…he asks God to make the sun stand still. How did that even cross his mind??? ”Um God…we’re going to need some more daylight…could You stop the sun for a bit? Thanks!”
The thing is, God did exactly what Joshua asked. He stopped the sun for a full day. He also sent hail – hail that knew exactly where to land so that more enemies died by hail than by sword. Bet no one saw that coming.
I’m reminded that I never know what’ll happen unless I believe God enough to ask Him something as big as I believe Him to be. “If I’m going to err, let me err in faith. Let me err in believing God at His word.” God wants to know that we believe Him enough to ask big crazy things of Him. If following through on your word and doing the right thing is leaving you hung to dry by the world’s standards, say, “God? I’m way out on a limb here. Please take care of this” and then sit tight to watch God work.
If He doesn’t answer what we asked, then He’s got a better way. But if He does….if He does do something hugely “crazy”, He will work out all the consequences as a result of it. That’s something we sure can’t do. Right?
Father, My prayer today is Jeremiah 32:17, “Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” Thank you for being bigger than whatever I am facing today. Amen
Question: Can you remember a time when God showed up in a miraculous way? What happened? How did you feel?
4 Responses to ““I Want an Elephant””
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How shortsghted I can be regading my nanswered prayers and dsappintmens in not getting whar I asked fr. Your wrds for today have mnstered to me and am goi.g to make me prayers that make my Father roar w laughter! He can can answer as He wills. I just want t make Him laugh w joy! I love Yo,Father!
Wow! I am so encouraged! I agree wholeheartedly in this kind of “crazy” faith! It happens over and over and over in my life. I am amazed by how God is so Sovereign, and how His Way is so amazing. Nothing is too hard, or too big, or even too small for God! Period. Amen. We need to ask His Will in all things! Thanks for this encouragement this morning. Awesome stuff, and I loved your uplifting and fun wording!.. and the elephant story too; I’m a big Beth Moore fan. I can tell you are too. God is so good. Thanks again!
Yes, I can certainly remember a day such as this!
When I was 20, I lost my job at a pet store (supposedly due to scheduling isues, but really because I spoke out about a “good” older employee and their theft). Let me tell you I was up a creek; I’d only worked there for about a month, my rent was due in 3 days, and since I was let go the store policy was to hold my paycheck an extra week (?). As soon as I’d found out I was fired, I raced like a crazy woman to find a new job. I tried contacts of my mother, friends of the family, even put in applications at fast food restaurants. No luck…no one was hiring.
I sat in my car on day 2, after being told that even the Burger King near my town wasn’t looking for help, and prayed. “Dear Lord and Lady, who are the Creators of all, infinite in their wisdom and compassion, please aid me now. Please help me to find an employer who can help me.” Immediately as I finished my prayer, I got a feeling to drive up the road I’d just come down. I drove, and paid close attention to my feelings which suddenly told me to pull into a plaza and buy (of all things!)a comic book. I parked, and went into the strip mall…very surprised to see the name of a comic/gaming shop I’d not seen since I was a little girl!
I went in, was amazed at how large and bright it was, and how nice/funny the employees were. I found a comic that I liked, and went up to pay for it. As I’m doing so, the head manager comes over and starts to ask about my interest in comics, videogames, roleplaying games…then out of the blue says he likes my attitude and do I want a job! I nearly fell over in my rush to say yes. I had an interview, started the very next day…and got a small advance on my first paycheck so that I could pay my rent.
I have been working here going on 7 years now, am a manager, and wouldn’t trade my job for anything. Yes indeed, the Gods work in mysterious ways!
My BIG prayer is usually on a busy day when I ask God to Provide me extra hours in my day. Sometimes 24 hrs just isn’t enough! I don’t know how it happens other than His grace, but I usually manage to have more time when I ask for it.