A man found a
cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat
and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to
force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop
making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it
could, and it could go no further. So the man decided to help the
butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the
remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily.
But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man
continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any
moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support
the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact,
the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a
swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly. What
the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that
the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly
to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid
from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be
ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives.
If God
allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would
cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been.
We could never fly!
I asked for
Strength.........And God gave me Difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for
Wisdom.........And God gave me Problems to solve.
I asked for
Prosperity.........And God gave me Brain and Brawn to work.
I asked for
Courage.........And God gave me Danger to overcome.
I asked for
Love.........And God gave me Troubled people to help.
I asked for
Favors.........And God gave me Opportunities.
I received
nothing I wanted.........I received everything I needed! |