Mouse?
Psalms 27:1-5 KJV
(1) <A Psalm of David.> The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
(2) When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
(3) Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
(4) One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.
(5) For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
I recently saw a portion of ‘Myth Busters’, where they take certain generally accepted myths and determine their validity. This particular one dealt with the notion that an elephant is afraid of a mouse. These guys actually went to Africa or Asia to conduct experiments with the creatures in their natural habitat, and what they discovered was, yes, the massive elephant will react in fear to the site of a mouse. It’s not that they take off running madly in terror, but they very much divert their motion around a mouse that is presented in their path. For the dudes on the show it was a most unexpected outcome- that the massive pacaderm would even notice a tiny rodent that could in no way harm it. If only that silly giant knew who he was, if only he could check out a mirror and see the way things really are, there might be no reaction at all to the presentation of the mouse.
Ok, maybe the elephant was just kind hearted and didn’t want to take a chance of stepping on the mouse, sort of like when we weave to avoid a squirrel in the road. In reality, though, there are so many of these things in life that are really powerless in themselves to do anything at all to harm us, and yet we find our path being completely diverted by just the sight of them. Sure, there may be the potential for enemies of sickness, lack, and terror to overwhelm, but in Christ we’ve been made to be giants, and all opposition has been made to be miserly and mouse-sized in comparison. When the old man and his old ways are taken to the cross daily, and we allow all things to become new, there is not just our old feeble self standing up to evil mice, but we are made to be part of this monstrous, invincible body of Christ Jesus that is way more than an overcomer. When the choice is no longer to try it on our own out in the weather with our own decisions and our own ‘wisdom’, we can join David in the house of the Lord where the foundation is unshakeable upon the Rock and we are hidden away completely from an enemy’s ability to penetrate the heart with his destructive power.
Where is the fear when you really look in the mirror and see who you are in Christ? It no longer exists. When you’re hidden away in the secret place, not only will the threats of the mice be seen in their rightful perspective, but those squeaky nuisances will run away in terror themselves, having come in contact with the One who towers far above them in size, strength and ability. There is nothing better than dwelling there in Him, where images of beauty, light and revelation of His holiness replace the spectacle of darkness and doom at the hands of the inferior foes.
