When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin,
you consume like a moth what is dear to him. . . Psalm 36:11a
A tapestry can be a beautiful thing. That is, until a moth begins to chomp on it. All that hard work is left vulnerable to be ravished because it was left unprotected. A life without God in it can unravel despite of our hardest efforts to make it valuable.
A moth needs nourishment to produce a caterpillar, which will then cocoon. Through a process called chrysalis, it miraculously turns from a crawly multi-legged bug into a creature of flight that is attracted to the light. God does the same with our lives when we allow Him. He will eat away the parts that are vulnerable to sin, such as the things we put way too much pride in accomplishing on our own. But He does not stop there. God will use those things to transform us into new creatures, attracted to His Light and His Truth.
When we hold things too dear to us and place them above God, we sin. We deserve discipline from a just God. But when we surrender to His will, what we get is something more in return. We become renewed in our own chrysalis.
God may be seeming to unravel your world, and right now it may seem more hole-ly than holy. But be assured that He is about to create something spectacular with it’s threads. Let Him consume your life, and He will fill it with wonder and make it into an eternal and permanent treasure that neither moths nor rust can ever destroy. Trust, and give Him time. The tapestry of your life can be made into something even more beautiful and purposeful than you could ever imagine.
