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| The little caterpillar was cute and fuzzy, but more importantly, he persisted; he had a purpose. |
He Wouldn't Give Up
As I walked down to our mailbox a few days ago, I noticed a small caterpillar crawling along over the rocks. The wind was gusting up to about 30 miles an hour that day, but the little caterpillar kept crawling along.
At times, the wind actually picked the lightweight, fuzzy little guy up and he skittered several feet across the road. Every time the wind lifted him up, when he hit the ground, he just kept crawling in the same direction. Nothing seemed to bother him. He just kept going.
If the little caterpillar stopped crawling because it was too windy, he certainly would have died there on that barren road, which was utterly devoid of food or shelter. Instead, he kept crawling, moving toward some unseen, and likely unknown, destination.
If the little caterpillar stopped crawling because it was too windy, he certainly would have died there on that barren road, which was utterly devoid of food or shelter. Instead, he kept crawling, moving toward some unseen, and likely unknown, destination.
Like the caterpillar, we often don't know what's up ahead for us. But unlike the caterpillar, we tend to fret and worry, sometimes to the point that we stop moving at all.
But the simple truth of the matter is that if we stop, we are being disobedient. We are also circumventing God's good plan for us.
God has a plan and a purpose for me and for you! Jeremiah 29:11 says: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
We must remember that in addition to having a purpose for us, Christ is behind us, beside us, and before us. He surrounds us with his love - even in the wind - no, especially, in the wind. We must remind ourselves of the great destiny that is ours, in a Kingdom that cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12).
I don't know about you, but knowing Christ, knowing that He is with me to the end of the age, knowing that His word is true and unchanging, and knowing that somehow, He can make all things work together for good, gives me calm assurance - even when the wind blows so hard that it picks me up and sets me down in a place that I wasn't expecting. (Matthew 28:20, Matthew 24:35, Romans 8:28 )
On Our Way to Something Beautiful
We may be bucking the wind now, but we must remind ourselves that we are on a path of purpose.You see, like the caterpillar on its way to becoming a butterfly - we are on our way to something beautiful.
Keep crawling and get ready to fly.
The phrase, "keep crawling" reminds me of something Pastor Gerald Lewin said many times while he was pastor at Bethel Assembly. He often encouraged us to "plod on, plod on, plod on." Sometimes, life feels like that - simply plodding. However, plodding or prancing, it is important to keep moving. I am encouraged by the words of Paul in Philippians 3:21 - "He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control." Reminds me again of the crawling caterpillar that will shortly go through an amazing metamorphosis, emerging from his cocoon with wings, equipped to fly. What a beautiful example God gave us in the butterfly!
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