The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” They thought, “David cannot get in here.” Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David. 2 Sam. 5:6-7
I don’t know if I’ve ever been to a church that didn’t have an elephant or two in the room. Even the church I pastor has a few. They seem to be everywhere, sitting right in the middle of everything, acknowledged by everyone and addressed by no one. However, elephants don’t make good church members. They take up too much room and will eventually make a mess that might be impossible to clean up.
David had an elephant in the room when he became King, and they were the Jebusites who still occupied Jerusalem. Everyone knew they were there, squatting on the hill that Abraham took Isaac to in obedience to God’s command to sacrifice his only son. But David, who wasn’t afraid of Goliath or lions or bears, certainly wasn’t going to let a nasty little elephant stand in the way of God’s desire to establish His name in Jerusalem (Deut. 12:5; 2 Chron. 6:6).
How do you exit and elephant from the room of your church? Or your life? These are the points I used last week to address some of the elephants at Journey Church, and help people address their personal elephants – those things everyone (including yourself!) knows is there but no one wants to talk about. Perhaps they will help you.
You exit an elephant from the room by:
1. Admitting it exists (2 Sam. 5:6). That’s just common sense. You cannot address an issue if you won’t admit it exists. But many people won’t. King Saul didn’t. If you don’t think you have any personal elephants, ask your friends or family. You might be surprised at their answer.
2. Ignoring its taunts (2 Sam. 5:7). Elephants can be loud and noisy. They walk on padded feet, but when they start to make noise, the trumpeting is not something you want to listen to all day. The Jebusites told David even the blind and lame could keep him out of Jerusalem. Elephants will taunt you with an element of truth mixed with a lot of lies. Your elephant is probably right in the middle of your territory. It looks impregnable. It mocks you. It says you will never overcome it. It says you are so weak that two people, one blind and one lame, could defend it from your efforts to overcome it. Ignore it. Remember that Jesus said, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Continue Reading