When I was a kid, one of my coaches told me a story about circus elephants. When these elephants are still little and weak, they are chained to ironstakes in the ground, which prevent them from breaking free and running away. This allows the circus trainers to keep them close, work with them, and prepare them for their routines. What’s strange is that even after the little elephants grow into huge and powerful animals, they remain restricted by those same miniature stakes in the ground. Even when they are more than strong enough to yank the stake out of the ground and roam free, they don’t do it. They don’t even try.

Sometimes we demonstrate this kind of helplessness too. We focus on a little stake (or mistake) from our past and forget that, with God’s help, we have the power to release whatever has been holding us back.

Is a little stake from your past holding you back?