Weekly Words

In God’s Hands

One day while looking outside in the backyard, I saw a butterfly that was trapped in the screened section of our back porch. It was not trapped because it had no where to go and no way to get out – the screen door was wide open. However, it was trapped because its vision and understanding was too limited to find its way out. I am not sure if you know this but birds, bugs, and butterflies have no concept of objects like windows and screens. If a bird ever gets trapped in a house and sees a window, it will fly into it full speed over and over again attempting to fly outside because it can not comprehend a clear obstruction. Many bugs and butterflies die in windows because they never understand that a window is an obstacle and not an opening. Perceiving this butterfly’s dilemma on my back porch, I went outside to catch the butterfly, carry him to the door and release it to its freedom.

As I approached and tried to catch the butterfly with my hand, it began to fly frantically up and down the screen attempting to escape my grasp. The butterfly was terrified because it could not see what I saw, nor understand what I understood. I knew that the only way this butterfly could be free was for it to surrender to the imprisonment of my hand. (This word has already helped somebody!) What the butterfly saw as a hand of destruction, was really a hand of deliverance. However, narrow vision and a limited understanding prevented this beautiful butterfly from understanding that its destiny was in my hand. As it continued to fly frenetically into the screen, I was left to wait until it was too tired to put up anymore fight, and let me have my way. (Let me put a dime in the meter and just park right here because sometimes the only way God can work in our lives is when we get too tired of fighting … My dime is up!!!) Finally, when the butterfly was too exhausted to fly and had surrendered to what it thought was its death and destruction I picked it up, took it to the door, and released it outside.

Such is the case with our lives. So often, our vision and understanding is so limited that we find ourselves flying into a screen or a window, but never going anywhere or making any progress. Though we see where we want to go, we cannot understand what is impeding us and why we cannot get there. Moreover, when God does want to come to our rescue, we see God’s hand as a hand of destruction instead of a hand of deliverance. Yet, sometimes our only source of freedom is to surrender to the imprisonment of God’s hand. The same hands that fashioned and formed the world; the same hands that placed the stars in their silvery sockets; the same hands that took nails in them one Friday at Calvary, are the same hands that can pick you up, take you to the door of your destiny, and release you to life and life more abundantly.

Humbly in Christ’s Love,
Pastor B.A. Jackson