Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Matthew 6:26

I came across this short “factoid” about elephants that shows a part of the amazing creative work that God has done in our world. This was written in the May-June 2017 issue of the Answers Magazine.

When an elephant puts his foot down, you’d better listen. That may be what the elephant is doing, too. Although those giant flaps on each side of its head give it excellent hearing, for really long-distance communication, an elephant puts its foot to the ground.

Besides their impressive trumpeting sound, elephants emit a low-frequency rumble that can reach ears six miles (10 km) away. But that rumble travels even farther through the ground, and distant elephants hear it with their feet. By perking up their ears—that is, their feet—elephants can hear rumblings and stomped warnings from herds nearly 20 miles (32 km) away.

But they can hear some sounds even farther away. On the sun-drenched African plain, the sound of rain is music to an elephant’s feet. Herds 100 miles (160 km) away can hear a storm and start moving toward the downpour of precious water.

Big animals spread over a vast area need to communicate quickly. The elephant’s footphone is an ingenious reminder that the loving Creator doesn’t turn a deaf ear to His creatures’ needs.

Sometimes, when we’re going through difficult times or a rough season of life, it’s easy to wonder if God really cares. We need to remind ourselves of how God takes care of the birds of the air and how He has created the elephants so they too will be taken care of. If He cares that much for them, the rhetorical question that Jesus asks us is, “Are you not much more valuable than they?”