A Tortoise’s Tenacity

Note: This will be my last post for a while. The Lord has impressed on my heart to take the month of December off for family time. See you next year!

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7, NIV).

A couple months ago, someone gifted our family with a tortoise. We have had all kinds of jungle pets before, but this is our first-ever tortoise. She promptly laid an egg, so we knew she was a girl. I named her Mabel.

For weeks, Mabel acted very forlornly. She spent all day every day hiding on the farthest side of our yard, with her head in the corner. She looked so dejected.

After however many days of this, I decided to pray over her. I have seen God work in animals on quite a few occasions, so I was confident He cares about her too. I put my hands on her gently and prayed out loud in a soft voice, asking Jesus to fill her with His presence and peace. I blessed her and spoke to her lovingly.

After that, something shifted immediately. Every day since then, she has made every effort, constantly, to come into our house. The yard will no longer do. Whenever the door is left open, she saunters on in. When the door is closed, she puts her front legs up on it, trying to get through.

What has amazed me about this is her persistence. Since she is not house trained, my husband puts her out as soon as he spots her inside. Then, she waits for her chance. Again and again and again and again and again, she comes back inside as soon as she can. Occasionally she manages to do so without anyone spotting her. In those instances, she crawls into a nice cool corner and takes a nap.

That is, until she gets ejected again. However, not one ejection has daunted her. All day long, she waits at the door for her next chance. As soon as it arrives, she is through the door. She may be back outside thirty seconds later, but that doesn’t stop her. She turns right around and waits for her next chance.

I see three lessons here. First, prayer works. Second, God cares about animals and their mental health. Third, Mabel has something to teach all of us. In watching her, I fully understand now where Aesop came up with his famous “The Tortoise and the Hare” fable. I have no doubt that he had a Mabel in his life. She is just so dang tenacious! I wish you could watch her for yourself. Once you had a chance to do so, you would find renewed determination to never, ever give up, I’m certain of it.

So that’s the third lesson right there. Never give up. Holy Spirit has been talking to me about this for several months now. He’s been impressing on me this specific truth: as we persevere through hardship, if we don’t quit prematurely, we will outlast the devil.

What do I mean by that? This. The enemy has limited energy. Eons ago, he was cut off from the source of life, God. As a result, he regularly runs out of strength for battle. He gets depleted to the point where he has to flee from us.

You know, you and I get worn out too. We often find ourselves weary and spent. However, the enormous difference is that you and I get to run right to the source of life, Jesus, every time we are drained and need new strength. The enemy cannot do this.

If you and I will keep pressing forward and keep pressing into the heart of God every day, He will renew our energy unfailingly. In a way, we function kind of like our phones. We plug them into their chargers every day and the battery goes right back up to full capacity. They are good to go for another round at the game of life.

Similarly, each time we spend time in our Father’s presence, His life and peace pour into us once again. We emerge from our prayer closets glowing with renewed strength. We are ready to face the day once more.

As we keep doing this day after day after day, the enemy is getting more and more tired. Eventually, he will give up his attack, when he realizes there’s no way he’s going to get us to quit. He knows that his waning strength is no match for the Greater One living inside of us and providing us with His endless supply of power.

That’s what happened when the devil attacked Jesus with temptation. Of course, he tried to kick Him while He was down. When He was at His weakest after forty days of no nutrition, the enemy came in with his worst attempts. He tried and he tried and he tried, but Jesus tenaciously persevered. Our Lord held onto the Word. He held onto the strength that Holy Spirit provided Him in those crucial moments. Led and empowered by the Spirit, Jesus pushed through the intense pressure.

Jesus didn’t give up. Who did? The devil. Jesus outlasted him. And so will you and I.

Today, I am feeling so inspired by my Savior’s example. Holy Spirit is ready to provide us with unlimited supplies of new strength. With undaunted tenacity, we will win the race set out for us.

(AND I am feeling inspired by Mabel. I am convinced that Jesus sent her to teach me more about never giving up. If a tortoise can do it, my friend, so can you and I! 😃)

************************

Has God ever taught you something through watching or interacting with an animal?