Community

by: Adam Stout

Lions may be kings of the jungle, but elephants can hold their own. Healthy adult elephants are ten to twenty times the size of a lion. For this reason, lions only attack weak or baby elephants. But elephants have a trick. When they sense a calf may be in danger, they trumpet a call to circle up. Then they form an impenetrable wall that keeps the calf safe.

When outside forces threatened Nehemiah and the Israelites rebuilding the wall, they circled up. The workers “did their work with one hand and held a weapon with the other.” They were so vigilant, in fact, that they didn’t even change their clothes!

This kind of effort can’t be maintained for long, but it may be necessary for a season. Especially when someone in our community is hurting or under attack, we can trumpet the call to circle up. With one hand we work, and with the other we hold our weapons: the Word of God and prayer.

My friend Thyra preached to a congregation that had recently suffered the loss of a beloved younger member. The congregation heard the trumpet call. They circled up. They cried together and surrounded the hurting family. They had no illusion that they could do it all on their own. Instead, they gathered with the knowledge that “our God will fight for us.”

When the call goes out, will you help surround the weak or hurting member?