Your Very Own Metamorphosis

Brokenness is something we often run from.

But what if that breaking is necessary to be catapulted into your destiny?

I’m sitting outside right now, surrounded by butterflies flying from flower to flower collecting nectar.

I’m reminded that they had to go through quite a bit of change before they made it to the garden in my backyard, gracefully fluttering around, showing off their rainbowed wings.

I’m sure you remember learning all about metamorphosis in the second grade. Maybe you even had the cool teacher who let your class have a butterfly farm.

But reading about the life cycle of a butterfly this time around, I was shocked by the spiritual weight that this transformation carries.

Stage 1: The Egg

This stage is pretty straightforward — the butterfly lays the egg. Not the caterpillar.

This may seem elementary but bear with me and look with spiritual lenses.

The butterfly knows what the little egg will become long before it hatches. The parent understands that the tiny egg was created and designed to display beautiful mosaics of color and life, created to catch the wind and fly, long before the little caterpillar knows this.

In the same way, your Father in heaven knows your full potential and has planned wonderful things in store for your life. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, this is how he sees us. He sees us as whole, complete, and new. He does not see or define us by our past mistakes or even our current ones after repentance. He sees your full potential, and understands that you are being made new daily.

He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. Psalm 103:12

You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean! Micah 7:19

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19

Stage 2: The Caterpillar

When the egg hatches, the caterpillar will start to work and eat the leaf they were born onto. This is crucial because the mother butterfly must lay her eggs on the type of leaf the caterpillar will eat.

So pretty much all the caterpillar does in this stage of metamorphosis is eat. (Kind of jealous, but it’s fine.)

Once they start eating, they instantly start growing and expanding. Their exoskeleton (skin) does not stretch or grow, so they grow by “molting” (shedding the outgrown skin) several times.

There are two ways that I want you to look at this stage— one way is spiritual growth. It is extremely important to be feeding yourself with the word and scripture and to be spending time in the presence of God. We cannot compromise this and expect to grow and reach our full potential.

Two (and these are not mutually exclusive, in fact, they are quite dependent on each other) is the wait. It could be high school, college, or working that job you absolutely hate. Let me explain.

Unless caterpillars are extremely self-aware, I doubt they’re thinking “Let me stuff my face so I can sprout some wings and dip out.” They’re probably just working their way through the environment they were placed in.

I think a lot of times we get discouraged by our current circumstances and wonder how God can be working things together for our good when we feel trapped on a leaf, unable to fly away like the little caterpillars.

Little do the caterpillars know, all of their hard work is producing growth and even resulting in the shedding their old, dead skin! It is preparing them for their dreams, and exactly who they were created to be.

Stage 3: Pupa! (Chrysalis) a.k.a The Cocoon

Once the caterpillar has reached its full length/weight, it forms into a pupa. From the outside, the pupa looks as if the caterpillar is just resting, but on the inside, rapid changes are taking place.

During this phase the old body parts of the caterpillar are undergoing a remarkable transformation— The tissue, limbs and organs have all been changed by the time the pupa is finished, and now it is time for the final stage of metamorphosis.

I think of Elijah.

Elijah is one of the most famous biblical prophets who performed many miracles, signs, and wonders. He was so bold and full of faith that kings and rulers sought after his wisdom and prophetic words.

But before Elijah was delivering messages from God to kings and sending down fire from heaven or rain in droughts, The Lord brought him to the wilderness to spend time in isolation with Him.

“Then the Lord said to Elijah, ‘Go to the east and hide by Keith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River. Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food.’ So Elijah did as the Lord told him and the ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he drank from the brook. But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall.” 1 Kings 17:2-7

Many times, the Lord brings us to the end of ourselves in wilderness seasons so that God’s glory can be revealed in a real, raw way. Think about the very nature of a cocoon. It is designed to be broken-free from. There must be a breaking of the old in order to enter into the fullness of the new season. And in the brokenness, He demonstrates his faithfulness and we learn to truly trust Him.

In the cocoon and isolation is where we are able to be ministered to directly by God, with no distractions. We can rest by the brook, and take in the fullness of His love without all the noise. He meets our needs there and shows us how much he cares about the details of our lives.

Stage 4: The Butterfly

As soon as the butterfly has rested after coming out of the chrysalis, it will pump blood into the wings in order to get them working and flapping – then they get to fly. Soon after, the butterfly will master flying and will eventually search for a mate and reproduce.

The butterfly stage represents the season you see all your dreams and efforts come to fruition. It is a blissful, dreaming-with-your-eyes-wide-open season. Take in every moment of it.

It is important to note that we are all complex, full of different dreams and desires that the Lord has placed in our hearts. These four stages do not define the entirety of your life like they do a butterfly’s, but rather the seasons.

In a few years, The Lord may plant a brand new dream in your heart and this metamorphosis may have to take place all over again! Thats the beauty of our walk with Him— It is continuously full of growth! There are infinite chances for new adventures and revelation, because the very nature of our God is infinite, abounding in awe and wonder.