Daily Devotional – 7/17/17 “Struggle!”

A butterfly begins as a small egg, however, instead of being born as a baby butterfly, it begins as a caterpillar. At birth, the caterpillar’s only responsibility is to eat and they eat in abundance because it helps them to grow. Once they are done and reached their full weight, they hang themselves upside down, spins itself into a hard shell called a chrysalis and stays there. Inside of this hard shell, metamorphosis is happening because the caterpillar is shedding its old body and the markings of a butterfly are appearing. On the outside, all you will see is a hard shell of something, hanging from a twig but inside, some stuff is going on. Finally, when the caterpillar has done all it can, the butterfly will begin to emerge from the shell. If you happen to be watching the process, you will see the butterfly struggling to get out. Get this though, the butterfly has to struggle because the struggle causes blood to be pumped into their wings which are soft and without the struggle, the butterfly would not have the strength to fly. If you try to help it out of the shell, you risk damaging their wings, preventing them from being at their full potential.

Why am I sharing this? Well, because somebody this morning is having a hard time trying to understand why you’re struggling. You have begged God to get you out but He will not. You have tried your best to deal with it but you cannot make logical sense of it. You’ve stood in the mirror, in the shower, over the dishes and you still cannot wrap your mind around your struggle. Sir, ma’am; you’re about to soar and without the struggle, you’d have no strength to fly. And if God were to bring you out, prematurely, you’d risk not being at your full potential. See, I looked up the definition and struggle is defined as to make forceful or violent efforts to get free of restraint or constriction. Without the struggle, you wouldn’t be free. Free from what? Whatever it is that is keeping you restrained where you are. You have to struggle, beloved, because struggling sets you free to fly and when you have the strength to fly; you are then able to get to where God needs you. Look, the only time the word struggle is in the KJV of the bible is Genesis 25:22, where Rebekah is pregnant with twins and it says, “And the children struggled together within her; and she said, if it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the LORD,” and the Lord told her in Genesis 25:23, “Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.” You are struggling now but baby you have no idea what your struggle will birth. All you have to do is be willing to fight through your struggle and not give up! Struggle is the strength you need to survive.