A story that I had read some time back came to mind; It's the story of a little boy who was watching a cocoon. As he kept watching, it suddenly began to shake. Intrigued, he came a little closer and sat down on his haunches and decided to see what was going on. Then a crack appeared on the cocoon as it began to shake even more. The crack widened and slowly over a period of time, he could see a little butterfly trying to get out of the cocoon. He watched it with even greater interest feeling sorry for the butterfly that seemed to be struggling to get out of the cocoon. Finally, it emerged, flapped its wings and flew away.
The little boy thought about that for some time and he felt sad that the butterfly had to go through so much of trouble to come out of the cocoon. So the next time he saw a cocoon, as it began to shake and the butterfly began to come out through the crack that appeared, he took the cocoon in his hand and opened it to allow the butterfly to come out easily. The butterfly flopped out and sat there, unable to fly.
The boy learnt a valuable lesson as his mother pointed out that one of the reasons that the butterfly has to push and flex its wings inside that cocoon to help it to emerge, is that in the process, the wings are getting stronger and stronger so that it will be able to fly. That is a valuable lesson, not only for that little boy, but for all us too. The stages of life that we are in allow for us to go through difficult times so that we are strengthened through it. Having help during that time can be detrimental to our own progress and well being in this life.
Sometimes we look at the adverse situations that are coming into our lives, and we try and flex our wings and get out of the situation and sometimes we give up. We wish that somebody would come and help us to come through it. The truth of the matter is that life has a way of throwing up its own situations and circumstances that make us, or want us, to fight it and work through it ourselves. That's the learning curve that we all must have in this life. Difficult situations can be fought and overcome by the things that we have inbuilt in us. I think when God made us, He did so in such a way that it is possible for us to face adverse situations, and still find the strength within us to overcome them.
I've been there myself. We go through difficult situations and we just sit there and hope that somebody will come alongside and lift us out and help us to overcome that situation. When things like that don't happen, we end up feeling sorry for ourselves. We maybe throw a pity party, feeling that no one cares for us and we are in this all alone. We wonder why we are in this by ourselves. Where is the help that we ought to get? But the story of the butterfly reminds me, and I thought that I could remind you as well, that God has so made us that we have inner resources to be able to handle the changing phases of life. We can call upon that inner strength because that's the way that we have been made, not for others to come and help us so that we plop out of the cocoon unable to then face life, but to be able to say, "I've come out of this stronger. My wings are stronger and now I can fly and be everything that I need to be." How important it is for us to really believe in ourselves, to know that we can do things even though we don't get any help from others. There is inner strength within us that will help us to cope. That's the way we are made, to be able to draw on the strength that we have within us to overcome situations.
Sometimes when we are in these adverse situations and circumstances, people may pass comments about who we are and the things we are trying to do. But the thing to do is to really look at ourselves and say, "I'm not going to take it. I know who I am. I know I'm made of better stuff. I know that I can overcome this." Eleanor Roosevelt said this, "Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent."
An anonymous writer says, "It's not who you are that holds you back; it's who you think you're not."
Self-belief is so very important. What does self-belief do? It makes us act on the fact that we know who we are and we know what we can do.
Mark Victor Hansen says, "Your belief determines your action, and your action determines your result. But first, you have to believe." You have to believe in yourself, in your abilities, what you are able to do with yourself, your gifts, talents, the relational skills that you have and all the innovation and creativity that we have been made with. You've got to believe in yourself. Don't let the situation or the circumstance or outsiders diminish who you are. Remember that every adversity that comes is an opportunity for us to grow stronger, to learn new lessons; but never to be diminished.
For me, as I think about inner strength and the courage and wherewithal that we have to overcome these situations, two words in Latin are so encouraging – Imago Dei, which means 'Image of God'. Our Scriptures say that we are made in the image of God. We have those abilities. God continues to pour His creativity into our lives. He gives us our self-worth, our identity. God hasn't made any trash. He's made good things and we are part of those good things that He has made.
The second thought that I want to leave with you, again from the Scriptures, is that is says, "I'll never let you down; I'll never walk off and leave you." So, even as you pull on that inner strength and not try to find people who will help you, remember that you have a God who is above who is able to help you, to give you what you need to be able to come through those adverse situations. I am not in any way saying that there aren't situations where loved ones or friends are meant to help us and we ought to take that help. What I am saying is that sometimes it's just time for us to get off the mat, to take the oars, to pull on inner reserves and come through the situation. And, you CAN because don't forget, God is with you!
May I pray with you? Almighty God, on each and every one who reads this post, pour out Your Spirit. Remind us that we are made in Your image, that we are good, capable, that we have the ability to do incredible things because You have put within us all of those things that You are – goodness, creativity and the ability to turn our eyes to You also, to have a good image because You have made us well and to have self-belief. Help all these wonderful qualities that You have given us to be expressed in our everyday lives. If there are some who face adverse situations, help them to find that inner strength, that second wind to come out of it. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
• Quotes by Eleanor Roosevelt, Anonymous & Mark Victor Hansen: https://howiemahere.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/believe-in-yourself/
• Scripture reference: The Bible Hebrews 13:5
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