Learn to bow, learn to change... a butterfly taught me how...

We have a huge butterfly farm close to our neighborhood out in the country. Truth be told, I have never visited it nor do I intend to anytime soon. The idea of butterflies sitting all over me is not very appealing, coupled with the fact that I usually scream and swot anything that jumps on me, putting me and a couple hundred butterflies together, is hazardous to the butterflies! Nonetheless I love butterflies, I find myself staring at them like a 5 year old, wide-eyed and super interested. I love butterflies and I love the lessons that nature teaches us. God is super smart in how He puts everything together. Our blood can (and should) teach us, the trees can (and should) teach us, the birds, the leaves, the grass - EVERYTHING it can (and should) teach us. Lately, I have been thinking about the butterfly and its monumental strength. That's right, the strength of a butterfly is monumental and its got much to say to us believers in Messiah.... here's how....

Worms go in to a cocoon and stay there, we see a simple cocoon on the outside. But on the inside a miracle is taking place. The worm is metamorphosing in to something beautiful, namely a butterfly. I will use the Monarch butterfly as the example for the lesson I am learning and trying to convey. The cocoon is commonly called a chrysalis, the worm will stay within this chrysalis for 2 weeks.

 

Can you notice the seam of gold and the flecks of gold on the chrysalis itself? Once the butterfly is ready to emerge from the chrysalis it starts stretching the area just above the band of gold- this process can take hours. The butterfly struggles to free itself from the chrysalis and once it does, it is left with little energy. Let's pause for a moment and consider how these elements effect the lives of us as believers. Just this week I have spoken to a number of brethren who feel that Yahweh is leading them in to a new time and a new place but with it has come an intense struggle, a battle and a fight. I can vouch for this place, its a real place. The butterfly in its cocoon has gone from being a mere worm in to something beautiful. Inside the chrysalis is everything it needs for its new beginning, there is life giving liquid, warmth and a perfect climate for its change. The thing about this place is that, the environment inside is perfect however if the butterfly does not emerge it is never really free (this reminds me of the Israelites in Egypt, some did not want to leave Egypt at all!). If we never ever really take our freedom and cross the very scary sea and claim our freedom on the other side, then we just remain slaves comfortable with the life we know. We have to emerge from the comfortable place in to the new thing. Not only do we (like the butterfly) have no idea about the climate awaiting us beyond our chrysalis, we have to force ourselves battle by battle to overcome so that we can emerge and show the world our beauty. I find it incredibly amazing how this chrysalis is lined with Gold. Father has been speaking to me so much about the cracks of gold within us. In our weakest places where we are broken and vulnerable - His Glory of Gold holds us and mends us. At this seam of gold, the butterfly marks its first touch. God's Glory is the glory which holds us together and helps us emerge from our place of struggle. It is in fact often God Himself who puts us in the struggle. We have to struggle out of our places of current comfort. These places are not bad - Father put us in them as well, just as He made the worm. But we were never intended to stay in last years seasons, we are intended to expand as our life expands. 

Lets go on.....

When the butterfly finally emerges from the chrysalis, its journey has just begun. As it emerges, it is at its weakest. It sits on the chrysalis shell, head bowed and feeling weak and it must wait for the fluids to pump in to its wings, because its wings remain soft and it is unable to fly. As it waits it at its most vulnerable and weakest. I am repeating this statement because it applies to us too. Being birthed in to a new season or in to a new place is never easy, in this place we are at our weakest. We have to wait for the leadership of Father's Holy Spirit to fill out our wings so that we can become all we can in that season. The trick is to wait and remain humble, meek and don't forget to lean. To lean upon the arm of Yahweh, humbly we wait for Father's strength to course through us, until we are fully able to stretch out our new found wings and take our freedom flight. The butterfly can teach us much about the life we are called to lived - its a struggle, its a status change, its a decision to take freedom over the pain of staying a scrawny worm. Its about learning that strength is not our own, it comes through the humble leaning on the arm of God until we are able to fly. In essence we truly are like the Israelites of old, we have to decide. We entered the world as slaves (to sin and death) and we had to decide are we going to stay in that place or are we going to emerge through perseverance and strain in to a place of freedom. May you find strength for the journey and if you are currently in the chrysalis or trying to emerge, hold on and keep going - we waiting for our breakthrough. It's coming soon...