Amazing Animals: The Mountain Goat

Amazing Animals: The Mountain Goat

Bible Blast: Read 2 Samuel 22:31-37

He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights. 2 Samuel 22:34

Mountain goats actually aren’t goats. They’re really a part of the antelope family. Maybe we should call them “mountain antelopes”! If you’ve ever seen one, you know that they look more like white mini-buffaloes than goats. Their white, fluffy coats make them beautiful.

If you’ve ever seen a “regular” farm goat up close, it’s hard to imagine they would be well suited for living in rocky places. The goats you might see at a county fair have hard, slippery hooves that work much better in grass or dirt. Mountain goats have a split hoof made for climbing rocks. The hoof spreads out a little when they step, which gives the goat a sturdier surface for climbing. And the bottom of the mountain goat’s hoof has a leathery type of pad so it’s not too slippery. God gave mountain goats special climbing shoes!

When I watch mountain goats in action on nature shows, I just shake my head in disbelief. They climb and climb on the very edges of rocky cliffs without falling. Since they live so high up in the air, they don’t have many predators, either. The biggest dangers they face are landslides and avalanches.

When David wrote the song of praise you read in today’s Bible Blast, he was amazed at how God helped him to do the impossible. God gave David great strength to protect himself. Maybe when David was hiding in the side of a mountain, he saw a herd of mountain goats climbing through the rocks. And maybe then he realized that the same God who created those goats created him and kept him from falling into danger.

God helps us walk through hard, rocky times. His faithfulness to us is like special pads on the bottoms of our feet that keep us from slipping. You don’t need to be afraid of the climb because he’s right there with you.

The next time you feel as if you’re climbing to new heights in some special challenge or assignment, rest assured that you—just like mountain goats and King David—were made for this!

Girl Gab: Are you or your mom afraid of heights? What’s the highest thing you’ve climbed? Thank God for his help during rocky times.