Fly

Happy Friday, Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama! Spring is almost here!

 

Before diving into this week’s Happy Friday, I want to respectfully ask you to pray for all of those who serve in the armed forces. Perspective changes things; as the Dad of two active-duty military personnel, I see things differently when someone dies in the line of duty. No, my family and I did not receive that news, but somebody's family did, and it breaks my heart. Please pray for those brave souls who protect our freedoms, and the families that love them.

 

Well, God made this week’s Happy Friday explicitly clear to me. I listen to several different messages a week and read a couple of different devotionals every day. I swear, Pastor Steve, Pastor Craig, Pastor Joel, Our Daily Bread, and Jesus Calling, all had a similar message at some point in time or another this week. I got it!

 

Before I start, please let me make this statement on the front end: if you are being mentally, physically, or sexually abused, please seek help immediately. As scary and terrifying as it might seem, please contact law enforcement and get the help you need. You matter, your life is unexplainably valuable, and this is not the life you were created to live. What I am about to share does not pertain to mental, physical, or sexual abuse.

 

How do you feel about challenges? You want some? For most of us, if we are being honest, the answer is “no.”

 

I want to kick this off by sharing a story I learned about this week when reading Our Daily Bread. It is titled The Struggle of the Butterfly, and the version I am sharing comes from spiritualgrowthevents.com. You can read it here https://spiritualgrowthevents.com/butterfly-struggle-spiritual-story/

 

The Struggle of the Butterfly

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through the little hole at the end.

 

Eventually, the butterfly stopped making progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. The man decided to help the butterfly, so 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 nature’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.

 

I believe it was Pastor Joel Osteen who pointed out that most of us, if given the choice, would like to be removed from our troubles. However, if we were just immediately removed, not only would we not have 1) to rely on God, 2) a testimony, but 3) we would not develop the strength that the storms of life are intended to develop in us so we can become all that we were created to become. In essence, we would become the butterfly that never could fly. Shifts the perspective, doesn’t it?

 

My Mom absolutely loved Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence, a 365 Daily Devotional by Sarah Young. For my Mom, she gave a copy to everyone…it was her ministry. Here is the message from March 5^th:

 

MAKE FRIENDS WITH THE PROBLEMS IN YOUR LIFE. Though many things feel random and wrong, remember that I am sovereign over everything. I can fit everything into a pattern for good, but only to the extent that you trust Me. Every problem can teach you something, transforming you little by little into the masterpiece I created you to be. The very same problem can become a stumbling block over which you fall, if you react with distrust and defiance. The choice is up to you, and you will choose many times each day whether to trust Me or defy Me.

 

The best way to befriend your problems is to thank Me for them. This simple act opens your mind to the possibility of benefits flowing from your difficulties. You can even give persistent problems nicknames, helping you to approach them with familiarity rather than with dread. The next step is to introduce them to Me, enabling Me to embrace them in My loving Presence. I will not necessarily remove your problems, but My wisdom is sufficient to bring good out of every one of them.

 

I told you it has been all week!

 

Look, I am not trying to minimize anyone’s problems or challenges; I totally get it. There have been many nights I have laid my head on the pillow at night, tears streaming down my face as I poured out my heart to God begging Him to take the problem or challenge away. Not once have I been magically taken out of a situation; however, time and time again, I have found the wisdom, strength, and courage to make it through the next day, and then the next one, and then the next one… As I sit here and reflect back over time, I see the wisdom, strength, and courage that were developed in the storms. Did I like them? Absolutely not! Did I grow from them? Take steps to become the man, husband, father, leader, and friend God created me to be because of them? Without question!!!

 

When I read my Bible, I am not told if I have troubles, but when I have troubles. Nothing that has, or will, happen to us is a surprise to God. And the beautiful part, He promises He will be with us in the storm.

 

I just want to encourage us all to shift our perspectives. While we don’t wish for problems, when they arrive, let’s hold onto the hand of Jesus with everything that is within us, and then let’s drain the potential for wisdom, strength, and courage out of it!

 

I want to close by sharing several scriptures that address problems, and they mean the world to me. I have memorized most of them and have repeated them 100s, perhaps 1,000s, of times. Perhaps you will find them helpful, too.

 

Isaiah 41:10 (New International Version)

10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

 

Deuteronomy 31:6 (New Living Translation)

6 So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

 

Romans 5:3-5 (New International Version)

3 Not only so, but we[a] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

 

Romans 8:28 (New International Version)

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.

 

John 16:33 (New International Version)

33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

 

Please feel free to contact me at any time if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

 

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend, please cherish your precious family, and please stay well!

 

Kev