An email from crosswalk.com caught my eye this week. It was titled "Is God Letting Your Family Down?" The author, Tim Palla, talked about praying for something specific for weeks or months or years without seeing any progress or any change. He related it to a project he and his children had taken on--hatching chicks from eggs. Turns out this wasn't so much of a fun family project as a lesson in waiting.
Eggs don't change. They show no progress. Inside, the chicks were developing just as they should. But to our naked and impatient eyes, nothing!
Palla used this in relation to prayers for our family members or friends. It's a great lesson for anything we pray for, anything we have to wait for.
I thought of a similar lesson I heard from someone, about butterflies breaking free from their cocoons. If you've ever watched it happen, the struggle looks appalling. You feel terrible for the poor, weak butterfly. At times it appears he'll never make it. But actually, everything is going the way God planned. The butterfly is exercising his wings. He's actually gaining strength. If, on the other hand, some well-meaning person decides to help out and breaks him free from the cocoon, the butterfly will not survive. Without that struggle, he'll be too weak.
Somewhere in the Scriptures it tells us that we can see God's nature and learn about him by looking at his creation. We can also learn a lot about his relationship to us--and about ourselves.
Eggs don't change. They show no progress. Inside, the chicks were developing just as they should. But to our naked and impatient eyes, nothing!
Palla used this in relation to prayers for our family members or friends. It's a great lesson for anything we pray for, anything we have to wait for.
I thought of a similar lesson I heard from someone, about butterflies breaking free from their cocoons. If you've ever watched it happen, the struggle looks appalling. You feel terrible for the poor, weak butterfly. At times it appears he'll never make it. But actually, everything is going the way God planned. The butterfly is exercising his wings. He's actually gaining strength. If, on the other hand, some well-meaning person decides to help out and breaks him free from the cocoon, the butterfly will not survive. Without that struggle, he'll be too weak.
Somewhere in the Scriptures it tells us that we can see God's nature and learn about him by looking at his creation. We can also learn a lot about his relationship to us--and about ourselves.
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May I share a short story that directly correlates? My family has been praying for my uncle's salvation since before I can remember. He's always been very closed even to discussion, let alone any kind of commitment. Since my father became ill with Lou Gehrig's Disease, he's been able to share his faith with my uncle. My uncle hasn't said he's made the commitment, but he's asked questions and started attending a church. We keep praying. The struggle of my father's illness has given his plea to my uncle strength.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I think the passage you're looking for is Romans chapter one.
I look back at my own walk with God and realize He was working on me for years- and still is. But people who loved me must have been praying for me for a long time and wondering when they might see results. It took a long time maybe, but He was working on me little by little. Maybe we should be thankful for the slowness, because it may mean He is being merciful to the one being prayed for, rather than taking other quicker, possibly more drastic measures.
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