My daughter recently went on a field trip with her kindergarten class to a butterfly exhibit at The Museum of Natural Science. She came back and shared an interesting fact, which has resonated with me ever since. She learned that monarch butterflies take advantage of the updrafts of warm air, called “thermals” and glide as they migrate from the United States and Canada to Florida and Mexico. This allows them to preserve the energy required for flapping their wings all through a long 2500-mile voyage that awaits them ahead.
This means they have two options for fueling their travels: gliding on the currents of warm air and the flapping of their wings.
Factoring in what lies ahead of them, they know it is wise to preserve energy whenever possible or they will not make it to their destination. The more they rest on the currents, the longer and more productive they can flap once the currents subside. Their wings can only flap for so long before getting weak and tired.
Are you weak and tired? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a comfy current of warm fresh air to rest upon as we trek through life? Wouldn’t it be nice to have the option of preserving energy rather than always using it all up? After all, we can only go for so long.
Turns out, there is an updraft of warm air we can rest upon. There is a way to preserve energy along the way in order that we more productively exert it when duty calls. This warm draft I am referring to is none other than God-breathed words of scripture. When we glide daily on the transforming wisdom, direction, and inspiration it provides we are graciously propelled forward and simultaneously refueled for whatever lies ahead.
Let’s be honest: the demands of this life can be exhausting! From sun up to sun down we are constantly receiving, processing, and responding to information. Let’s stop doing so in our own strength. Let’s start gliding daily on His Word as we glean for its transforming power. As Paul reminded Timothy, I remind us that “all Scripture is God-breathed and . . . useful . . .” (2 Timothy 3:16). The more we glide on it, the more we will find ourselves “. . . thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:17).
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