Last Saturday, I was the proud rescuer of a butterfly.
Monsoon season has started in Arizona, and with it has come a lot of wind and dust and a little bit of rain. The wind was the main element of Saturday's storm, and I found myself walking home in it.
I had just left my brother's house when I saw it. At first, I thought it was just a yellow leaf blowing along with the other particles the wind had gathered, but then I saw it trying to fly. It didn't do the poor thing much good. It landed less than softly on the blacktop and, although it got to its feet, did not move.
I almost left it there, but something drew me to it. I cupped my hands around it. Recognizing a shelter, the butterfly crawled onto my hand without difficulty.
I walked home with it huddled in my hand. Upon arrival, I coaxed it onto the wall beside the front door. The entryway was sheltered from the wind and, had it rained, would have remained dry as well. As far as I know, the butterfly remained there the rest of the evening until the storm passed. By the time I left for church Sunday morning, the sun was shining, and the butterfly was gone.
I'm not sure why rescuing a butterfly made me so happy. To be honest, it probably should not have made me as happy as it did.
But then I started thinking about it.
"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty" (Psalm 91:1).
That butterfly recognized a shelter, a safe place. It had tried to fly by itself in the wind, and it didn't work. However, as long as it remained in its shelter, it did not matter how hard the wind blew; it was safe.
Too often, we try to weather the storms of life on our own--to fly in the wind, as it were--when we should be running to the shelter of our own Safe Place. I won't post the entirety of Psalm 91, but it describes "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust" (v. 2).
As Christians, we have the ultimate safe place. Our God, the one we get to call Father, is in control of everything. We don't have to fear the storms (which will come, by the way) because we are in the hands of the One who only promises good to those that love Him.
It doesn't matter how hard the wind blows. God is our shelter.
But then I started thinking about it.
"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty" (Psalm 91:1).
That butterfly recognized a shelter, a safe place. It had tried to fly by itself in the wind, and it didn't work. However, as long as it remained in its shelter, it did not matter how hard the wind blew; it was safe.
Too often, we try to weather the storms of life on our own--to fly in the wind, as it were--when we should be running to the shelter of our own Safe Place. I won't post the entirety of Psalm 91, but it describes "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust" (v. 2).
As Christians, we have the ultimate safe place. Our God, the one we get to call Father, is in control of everything. We don't have to fear the storms (which will come, by the way) because we are in the hands of the One who only promises good to those that love Him.
It doesn't matter how hard the wind blows. God is our shelter.
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