Metamorphosis is a process, sometimes a day, year, season or lifetime.
We see both beauty and brutality. When life is beautiful, faith is “easy,” but when it is brutal, faith feels “blind.”
Filling one’s house with God’s spirit and beauty is a deterrent to his enemy much like the color orange in the Monarch butterfly is toxic to its predators.1
The Word of God fills us with God’s thoughts and is a guard against the enemy that the beauty of Jesus may be seen in all men and His creation.
Two caveats come to mind:
In the midst of the beauty, there will also be times of grief and mourning. They can come upon us like a wave. We may even feel taken under by the waves, but God has his hand reaching down, ready to pull us up through the washing of His Word or the ear or comforting words of a friend.
In the movie, “The Shack,” Mac, the protagonist finds himself in a boat. Suddenly there is a hole in the boat and black water begins to seep in. Jesus is just outside the boat, sitting near Mac. He says, “Keep your eyes on me. That is in your head, a bad memory.” Mac does so and eventually finds himself in a whole boat, no leak and a sigh of relief.
The only way to work our way out of a cocoon or help another is prayer and keeping our eyes on the Lord. To force the cocoon open with a quick fix can damage the butterfly. It is said that Job’s friends were at their best when they sat with Job and listened. In fact, they added more trauma to an already traumatized soul when they commented on his situation. But when Job sat in his cocoon with the Lord, he saw God’s grandeur and was moved to repentance, then prayed for his friends, and was eventually set free.
We also need rest from our labors that we may be more productive. The fourth commandment requires a day of rest. To quote Robert Morris, “God can do more for us in six days than we can do on our own in seven.”2
God longs to draw more people to Him every day, through teaching, comfort and renewal. But he also gives us more grace when we fail inwardly and outwardly.
…do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? 6 But he gives us more grace… – James 4:5-6a
How we need this infusion of beauty through grace. God longs jealously for our spirits and will stop at nothing on our behalf.
Amazing!
God Reflection 