24 MAY

THE CATERPILLAR AND THE ROSES

“And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.”

(Joel 2:25-26)

What a wonderful promise! Preceding these verses was God’s call to repentance: Return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.

Have you lost anything, recently? We have lost enormously and painfully in our country Nigeria! Some losses are subtle but even more destructive if left unchecked, like the caterpillar eating the green leaves of the rose plant; such is corruption and hidden sin!

As there are different species of caterpillars but all eat the leaves and can destroy the rose plant, so we have different challenges that can destroy our lives and destiny.

Controlling caterpillars may be one of the easiest battles in the rose garden: frequent and careful observation of roses and simply picking them out from the leaves before much harm is done. In some instances, control is more difficult and insecticides, which may be harmful to beneficial insects, have to be used. So it is with sin and corruption. Stop, pluck them out!

The rose flower is the queen of the garden. The caterpillar may develop into moths and some into the most colourful and beautiful butterflies, which the plants need for pollination and reproduction, hence are useful. If we stop caterpillars from eating leaves, how then will the caterpillar survive and develop into the needed butterflies? But, does that mean we should be complacent and allow the caterpillars to eat up and destroy our precious rose plants? No! The caterpillar can eat leaves from other plants. God made enough leaves in the bushes for every caterpillar to feed on without destroying any but if many gather on one rose plant, they will destroy it.

God made all things more than enough for us to enjoy but greed which breeds corruption, lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh and the pride of life, is like all the caterpillars eating from one rose plant!

ACTION:  Strive to be more sensitive. Examine your motives, pluck out evil desires before they cause further harm.

PRAYER: By God’s grace, I receive divine restoration in my life and country!