When you become a follower of Christ you start a process that, hopefully, will continue throughout your life. It is a process of transformation. The process of being transformed from our old, sinful life to becoming more like Christ. The end result of this process is indeed good, but the process certainly doesn't feel good most of the time.
It is very much like becoming a butterfly. We start off the process as a worm looking, caterpillar. Caterpillars are ugly. They crawl around eating leaves. Their movement is slow. There are few people who get excited about seeming a caterpillar, but I believe God loves seeing us in the caterpillar stage. He knows that we don't stay caterpillars.
The next stage of our transformation is in the form of a chrysalis, many call if a cocoon but it is a chrysalis. While in the chrysalis the caterpillar's tissue is broken down and the butterfly body forms. It doesn't seem like much is happening at this stage but big change is actually happening. During this time the caterpillar/butterfly is fragile. It has no way to see danger coming and can't protect itself. The chrysalis is so important to keep the it safe from the elements and from attack. The breaking down process that we go through is hard, painful and we often do not understand it. Thankfully we do not go through this part without protection either. God wraps Himself around us and will not allow us to be destroyed by the anything.
As hard as that stage is the next one is the hardest. This is the stage when the butterfly has to struggle to break free of the chrysalis. It still seems as if nothing is happening and then the chrysalis starts to shake. It is shaking because the butterfly inside is about to emerge. The butterfly struggles to break free and gains strength in the struggle. As a matter of fact, if you try to help the butterfly emerge you will actually kill it because it never gain the strength to use its wings. This is the hardest stage for us as well. We seem to be going along turning from a yucky caterpillar to a butterfly when it becomes time to break free of the protective chrysalis that God has put around us. It's not that He removes his protection from us, but He does want us to break free of the old us. He allows a time of struggle to help us break free of what we used to be to become who He has planned us to be. This struggle helps build strength in us, His strength.
Then it is a butterfly. Its wings need to dry from the fluid from the chrysalis. It only takes about an hour and then the butterfly is able to fly. We have a time after we break out of our chrysalis that we need to wait to fly, but when it's time to fly we take off like the butterfly. God has such a good plan for each of us and He wants us to fly into it.
This transformation has recently taken place in my life and just today the Lord told me that my wings are dry and it's time to fly! I have no idea, really, of where the flight will take me, but I am looking forward to the journey! I know that there will be more caterpillar to butterfly transformation times in my life, but it's okay because I also know "that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."
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