Get Rid of the "Elephant in Your Room"

Sometimes we become so used to something that once repelled us that we begin to feed that thing or allow it to live with us. Weight issues, family dynamics that are unhealthy, things that would make our lives better if we took care of them once and for all – how do these wind up on the 'someday I’ll get to it' pile?

Perhaps there was even a time when the answer to these problems came as an 'ah ha' moment or revelation from God, and we had great excitement about the solution. Or maybe we made a try at getting that thing resolved and failed - so now we have just decided that life will be lived with that problem in it - like a big elephant in the middle of the living room.

“Failing” at something is not trying over and over and over again without accomplishing that thing – it’s making the decision that we won’t work anymore at getting it resolved. But we are not failures – we are conquerors through Christ! We may have to take that elephant one piece at a time, but if we chip away at it, it will eventually get smaller and disappear.

In fact, trying to resolve all of it at once may not be God’s way of doing it. When the Israelites were conquering the promised land (and note that they had to conquer it, God didn’t hand it to them), God told them to take it little by little. He was there to work with them in driving out its inhabitants, but He wanted them to do it step by step so the ‘beasts’ didn’t overcome them in their striving to 'enter in' (Exodus 23). If they became discouraged and tired by trying to push too hard to conquer, they would make themselves vulnerable and their adversaries would beat them down.

God told then “if you work with me, we will take this elephant one chunk at a time, and then you will fully take possession of the promised land.” God’s still saying that today – He’s still working with us to get us to the land of promise, peace and victory on this side of heaven.

Take the ‘beast’ one step at a time. Be patient. Get victory over the first step before you take the second – and do your happy dance each step of the way, celebrating every “small” victory. There will be a time when you look back and see that the elephant is gone and you are the inhabitant of God’s promised land!