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Writer's pictureJeannie Scott Smith

Our Struggle Can Make Us Strong



I heard a story once of a man who 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 not 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 on the ground 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 of the 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, God will have us struggle in life. That is because He has a plan for us! He knows what is best and He knows what He is doing. We just have to trust Him. Does this sound familiar to anyone? I certainly was able to relate to this story. God does not promise no storms but He promises to carry us through them. Today be like the eagle in Isaiah 40:31 “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”


Be encouraged! God will turn every struggle into something strong and beautiful, just like the butterfly!


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