Isaiah 43:18-19 a NIV ~ “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. [19] See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”
Romans 12:2 NIV ~ “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
As you learned from yesterday the butterfly starts its journey as a caterpillar with two jobs, to eat and to grow. As a Christian, you have two jobs once you have been saved and accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord, it is to feed on God’s Word and to grow in God’s Word, so that you can be used for and by God for His Glory. The growth stages that you go through are designed to propel you into the most important stage. The final stage, where you move from being a caterpillar (the old you) and emerging to the butterfly (the new you)! It is in the becoming, that the stages change, you are transformed from who you once were to who you were created to be from the beginning! God knows your end from your beginning, you just have to go through the process (stop trying to skip stages and processes) learn to enjoy the experiences and encounters as you go!
So, last night I had this thought, what if the caterpillar decided that the changes were too hard, and it was not going to do it? What if it decided it wanted to stay a caterpillar forever? Well, you know this isn’t going to work, the process from caterpillar to butterfly is the natural order and no matter how much it may not want to change, it’s going to change! It cannot stay a caterpillar; it will become a butterfly, whether it wants to or not! Think about a baby, a baby grows from stage to stage until it becomes an adult like you and me! A baby can’t say that I don’t won’t to grow up, I want to remain a baby forever! You don’t have a choice, you will grow up, (so why do you try to use this excuse as a Christian when you don’t won’t to be obedient, do what your Father says. You are without excuse; obedience is better than sacrifice!) You are going to grow whether you like it or not, you just get to choose who you will serve. Joshua 24:15!
Now let’s use our imagination for just a moment then. What if that could really happen? The caterpillar would never reach its full potential, and it would never be all that it was meant to be, a beautiful reflection of God’s splendor and handiwork, an original! Well, think about yourself in the same way, you were made in love by God, and you were made to love Him back, you were made to worship Him! You were made to be a Christian (you just have not surrender to Him, but just know that time is running out, choose now where you want to spend eternity, in Heaven or Hell, only you can make that decision). Your Father is showing you things that you need to change and or let go of, that’s what the processing is for, to help you move from the old self and to embrace the new you, so that you can emerge and become all that you were created to be. It is time for you to reach your full potential! Processing is over, it is time for you to emerge into the beautiful creature that you were designed and destined to be!
But when you refuse to change, or you think it is too hard, you never will reach your full potential (in and of yourself it is hard, but when you give it to God, He performs a miracle. You serve a God who specializes in the Impossible.) You cannot remain where you are and expect to become anything more than what you are right now. You can’t want His blessings and live a disobedient life, you can’t want all good things to happen to you and all you put out is bad, you have to live right. God called you to live a Holy and Righteous life. This means you chose Him over you every time, even when you don’t understand, you still follow His plan, trust Him, He knows the end from the beginning. You need to allow God to work in you, to transform you into the beautiful creation that He established from the beginning, it was and has been His plan all along for you to grow and prosper in Him!
Just as the butterfly was created by God, so are you! You are a reflection of His love, and you could take a lesson or two from them. First, thing you see is that the transformation process is not easy, change requires the giving up of you, moving from your place of familiar to take up the position of the uncomfortable, but this is where any and everything that is not like God gets removed off of you, when the caterpillar goes through the chrysalis process, it sheds it hairy, slimy form, it grows legs, wings and antennas (all things become new.) It wasn’t easy changing, but it was necessary! Say that again, It Was Necessary! Everything that you went through was necessary to get you to where you are right now! Secondly, you have to learn how to stretch out and flap your wings, yeah sometimes it might be a little hard, but trust the process of God, let His Wind get in you and beneath your wings so that you may fly, for if you are going to be useful to God’s Kingdom, you can’t stay where you are, you have to be willing to feed on the Word and to grow up in the Word!
Let’s Pray:
Thank You Father, Thank You for transforming me into Your beautiful creation! Thank You for making me an original, for there is no one else like me, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made by You! Father, Thank You for giving me just the right amount of food to feed and to grow on, for I love the way it tastes, for Your Word says, Psalm 34:8, “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” Father Thank You for being the wind beneath me and in me, and through me. Father, I know that changes are not always easy, but I surrender to Your Will, Way and Word, that I may flap my wings and fly. That I may see all that You have in store for me, I may not know the end, but I trust and know that You do, and I know that my end results will be well worth it for my good! Father have Your way, feed me, grow me and transform me into anything that You desire, for I want to be used for You and by You for Your Honor and for Your Glory. In the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen!
Blessings…
Love, Minister Jean
Have A Blessed Weekend..
