Caterpillar

It was just a caterpillar inching across the fairway, but I knew immediately that that little black fuzzy was going to be the main character of my next devotional. For you, too, know the story of transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly.  But just in case you haven’t spent a little time relating that to what God does in each of our lives, it is worth considering.  And who could share a better story on this than Billy Graham.  

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

“There is a spiritual lesson in the study of the caterpillar. The same God who changes the caterpillar can also change you. The Bible tells us not to be conformed to the world but be transformed by renewing your mind (Romans 12:2).

Some caterpillars are colored to resemble the plants on which they feed and often mimic plant parts, such as thorns, thereby conforming to their environment. When it is time for the caterpillar to transform, it attaches itself firmly to a stem or branch and spins a cocoon for protection. Then it waits—usually for months. While it appears motionless on the outside, activity is taking place inside called metamorphosis. Wings form and eventually stretch out to fly. No doubt its view of the world will be quite different in the air than from the ground. From a slithering and destructive insect emerges a magnificent creature, feeding on the sweet nectar of the flowers. The caterpillar is born to crawl, but it is reborn to fly.

What a picture God has given us from nature. It is interesting that the ancient Greek word for butterfly is psyche, meaning the very life of the soul. The caterpillar’s transformation is a symbolic picture of the miracle work of Christ in transforming a lost soul into a vibrant believer who sees the world from a very different perspective—God’s perspective.

Lost souls feed on the toxins of sin. But when souls find salvation in Jesus Christ, they attach themselves firmly to Him and feed on the nutrients of His Word and emerge as new creations. He lifts us up out of the darkened path and points us to a better way.”

And there you have it! For each of us who are believers of Jesus Christ and the blessings that he has given us though his love, power, grace, guidance, forgiveness, and a conscience led by His Holy Spirt, we are being transformed daily.   For at one time we, who weren’t believers, were crawling through the world’s fairway without hope or a knowledge that there was a God greater than all we could imagine. One who not only has the power but the will to enter into our lives and hearts who loves us and is willing to help us negotiate life and the arrows the world throws  at us.  The branch of strength is before each of us, and the greater our hold on our creator is, the more confidence we will have in things working for his good through our transformation.

Sometimes we all feel like a black fuzzy…. crawling inch by inch to get past the next hurdle… but in Christ we no longer have to crawl through life with uncertainty, fear or grief or regrets etc., for he is our security. He holds each our lives in the palm of his hands. God knows full well each event that he has allowed to come our way…and it might seem like a long trudge ahead but God’s goodness is always in play.  For it is what is happening on the inside of each of us, that God is attending to.  Change comes first through the heart and therein lies the vessel for transformation.   

When we truly trust God and his goodness., it is then that we will find the beautiful creature that lies within. IN God, we are no longer crawling black fuzzies, for he  has given us wings to fly above our emotions and eyes to see things from his  Holy and good perspective, and a heart open to love and understand not only ourselves but others.

I hope you will just stop a sec and when you see that little black caterpillar and think:  just you wait….a transformation is on the way.  And remember that you too are being transformed one inch at a time each day.   

Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!

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