When
butterflies hatch at Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they do
so in an indoor tropical paradise perfectly suited to meet their every need.
The temperature is perfect. The humidity is perfect. The food is a perfect
balance of calories and nutrition to keep them healthy. No need to go
elsewhere. Yet some butterflies see the bright blue sky outside the
conservatory and spend their days fluttering near the glass ceiling far away
from the plentiful food supply.
I want to
say to those butterflies, “Don’t you know everything you need is inside? The
outside is cold and harsh, and you will die within minutes if you get what you
are longing to have.”
I wonder
if that is the message God has for me. So I ask myself, Do I look longingly at
things that would harm me? Do I use my energy to gain what I don’t need and
shouldn’t have? Do I ignore God’s plentiful provision because I imagine that
something just beyond my reach is better? Do I spend my time on the fringes of
faith?
God supplies all our needs from His riches (Phil. 4:19). So instead of striving for what we don’t have, may we open our hearts to gratefully receive everything we’ve already been given by Him.
