The African impala is a beautiful animal. When I went on a trip with my wife to South Africa several years ago, I got to see one up close and personal. I was overwhelmed by everything about this beautiful creature. One of the things that most impressed me was its ability to jump. It can jump ten feet straight up in the air. And it can jump forward thirty feet at a time. That’s how it moves so fast and avoids predators. 
 
Despite all its beauty, its power and its ability to leap high and long, a little cage about the height of a grade-school child is all that is needed to keep it trapped.
 
Yet if you put an African impala in a three-foot high cage, it will not try to leap out to obtain its freedom. Despite all its beauty, its power and its ability to leap high and long, a little cage about the height of a grade-school child is all that is needed to keep it trapped. If you put one in such a cage, it will remain incarcerated there for life. This is due to one significant flaw of the African impala. It will not jump where it cannot see. Thus, its movements are limited to what it can see. 
 
While the impala has the ability to free itself from the cage, it won’t exercise that ability because it won’t trust what it cannot see.
 
While the impala has the ability to free itself from the cage, it won’t exercise that ability because it won’t trust what it cannot see. Many of us are similarly controlled by circumstances which imprison us behind our own walls of fear, uncertainty and doubt. The devil uses these walls to keep us trapped, knowing that far too many of us feel the need to see before we set out. Yet faith doesn’t operate that way. Faith operates on the basis of belief. As Hebrews 11:1 reminds us: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
 
Believe and leap free from the snares of the enemy.
 
 
Check out more from Dr. Tony Evans @tonyevans.org

About The Author

Dr. Tony Evans

Dr. Tony Evans is one of the country’s most respected leaders in evangelical circles. As a pastor, teacher, author and speaker, he serves the body of Christ through his unique ability to communicate complex theological truths through simple, yet profound, illustrations. While addressing the practical issues of today, Dr. Evans is known as a relevant expositor. New and veteran pastors alike regard him as a pastor of pastors and a father in the faith.


At the heart of this vision is the use of church and school partnerships to effect spiritual and social change in communities. Dr. Evans’ church and school outreach philosophy has been attributed as a catalyst for former President George W. Bush’s Faith Based Initiative, which was his first formal act of office. Dr. Evans seeks to train churches, schools and volunteers in this philosophy, as well as in the functional practicalities, through the National Church Adopt-A-School Initiative which is a ministry underneath the umbrella of The Urban Alternative.


Dr. Evans serves as president of The Urban Alternative, a national ministry that seeks to restore hope and transform lives through the proclamation and the application of the Word of God. His daily radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on more than 850 radio outlets throughout the United States and in more than 80 countries.


Dr. Evans has written numerous books and booklets including his legacy work, Oneness Embraced, as well as his vision work, The Kingdom Agenda. Some of his most recent books includes, Kingdom Man, A Moment For Your Soul, Marriage Matters, and Victory in Spiritual Warfare.



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