WORDS
TO LIVE BY
BLESSED
IS THE MAN WHO
DOES
NOT WALK IN THE COUNSEL OF THE WICKED,
OR
STAND IN THE WAY OF WRONGDOERS,
OR
SIT IN THE SEAT OF MOCKERS.
A LESSON TO LIVE BY
A
man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening
appeared.
He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it
struggled
to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed
to
stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as
far
as it could, and it could go no further.
So
the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of
scissors
and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The
butterfly
then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small,
shriveled
wings.
The
man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that,
at
any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to
support
the body, which would contract in time.
Neither
happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life
crawling
around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never
was
able to fly.
What
the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that
the
restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly
to
get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from
the
body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready
for
flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes
struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God
allowed
us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would
cripple
us.
We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!
I asked for Strength.........And God gave me Difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for Wisdom........And God gave me Problems to solve.
I asked for Prosperity.........And God gave me Brain and Brawn to work.
I asked for Courage.........And God gave me Danger to overcome.
I asked for Love.........And God gave me Troubled people to help.
I asked for Favors.........And God gave me Opportunities.
I received nothing I wanted.........I received everything I needed!
May
God Bless You