The Flea Jar Lesson For Bigger Faith

A tiny insect delivers a big gut-check: what if the thing holding you back isn’t your ability, but a ceiling you learned to accept? We start the morning with a strange but unforgettable flea experiment, where fleas stop jumping high once a lid teaches them their “limit” and they stay trapped even after the lid is removed. It’s a vivid picture of how limiting beliefs form, and how easily we can keep ourselves captive long after the obstacle is gone. 

Transcript

Five-Minute Morning Welcome

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Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with Danny Mack. I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great five-minute start to your day. So grab your cup of coffee, sit back, relax, and let me help you start your day right. Good morning everybody. Welcome to Tuesday, and man, I hope your week is off to a great start. Now in our broadcast over the years, we've talked about a number of animals. Everything from mice to dogs and cats and buffalo, donkeys and horses and lions, and all kinds of other animals.

Why A Flea Matters

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Well, today we're going to talk about a much smaller animal. This is the mighty and ferocious flea. That flea that your dog or cat, you give them the collar to keep the fleas off of them. And you want to make sure that they don't land on you because they bite and then you get itchy and all the rest of it. Those are little nasty things. And I know that they are really just annoying insects, but they do have some remarkable abilities.

Fleas Learn The Jar’s Limits

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You may be aware of this story I'm about to tell. Scientists were experimenting with fleas and they learned something very unique. They took some fleas and they put them in an open jar. The fleas immediately jumped out of the jar. There was no contest, there was no question. The fleas just jumped out of the jar and they escaped all over the place, looking for the scientists' rats to go and visit and join. Scientists decided they would put some more fleas in the jar and then put a lid on top and see what happened. Well, the fleas continued to jump. You could actually hear the fleas banging against the lid of the jar as they were jumping inside of it. But before long, although the fleas were still jumping, there was no longer a sound of them hitting the lid of the jar. And the scientists discovered that it was because the fleas were no longer jumping high enough to come in contact with the lid. So the scientists did the next step. They took the lid off the jar. The fleas continued to jump, jump and jump and jump and jump and jump. But not one of them jumped out of the jar. Their environment had taught them that they could only jump so high, and so that's as high as they wanted to go. They weren't going to go any higher. I guess because it was giving them a headache, so they learned not to do it. So now the fleas were still held captive in the jar without even putting a lid on.

When We Put A Lid On Faith

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Now without offending anybody, I want us to realize that we can be a lot like those fleas. Almost all of us have put limits on God, and those limits actually can keep us from believing in the great things that God wants to do in us. Throughout the Bible we're told that God has wonderful and powerful plans for us, that He wants to work in us. But often we don't have the faith for it. We put a lid on our faith that keeps us from jumping into the power and the beauty of the things that God has for us. And even if He wanted to give it to us, would we really be able and wanting to accept it? Or would we question it?

Bible Proof That Faith Matters

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You know the Bible does tell us that a lack of faith can limit God. In Psalm 78, the people of Israel had rebelled against God. They were doing foolish things. And in verse 41 it says again and again they tempted God and limited the Holy One of Israel. Their lack of faith limited what God could do. You can look at that and say, okay, that's the Old Testament. But New Testament's completely different. Well, let's take a look at Ephesians chapter three and verse twenty. Now to him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us. That's talking about Christ's work in us and the exceeding abundance above all that we ask or think. Things that we haven't even imagined he can or will do, he is wanting to do for

Pray Bigger And Keep Believing

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us. So my encouragement this morning is really very simple. What big things do you need God to do in your life that you've been really afraid to pray for and believe for? God wants and is able to do tremendous things, exceedingly abundantly above anything we can ask or think. And sometimes we've put those limits on our belief that keep us from taking that step to the fullness of what God has for us. Believe big, have big faith, have strong faith. Know that God is wanting and able to do more for you than you have ever experienced to this point because He loves you and He cares for you. Keep the faith, my friends. Keep strong, keep believing, and don't limit God, and He will do amazing things in your life. Have a great day, my friends. We will talk again tomorrow. Thank you for joining us today, and I invite you to join us every Monday to Friday, right here at Starting Right with Danny Mack.