Today’s devotional, from ACTS International’s Daily Encounter, asks what we might learn from a peculiar animal and its cautious nature:

I have read that the African impala can jump more than ten feet high and cover a distance of thirty feet. So why can impalas be held captive in a zoo behind a wall that is only three feet high?

It’s because this magnificent animal will not jump if it can’t see where its feet are going to fall–and beyond the zoo wall it cannot see.

Richard Innes sees a parallel between the impala’s behavior and the Biblical attitude described in Proverbs 4:23-27, which cautions believers not to stray beyond the boundaries of God’s law. When we trust God to provide for our spiritual needs, there is no need—and it can actually be dangerous—to strike out into uncharted spiritual territory.

Unlike the impala, human beings find it extremely difficult to refrain from pushing or stepping over the boundaries put in place around us. What do you do each day to ensure that you “Do not swerve to the right or the left” and “take only ways that are firm”?

By: Andy. This entry was posted on Monday, August 16th, 2010 at 9:45 am and is filed under Devotional. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.