The Transformation Chamber

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2)

Let’s talk insects.

Specifically, butterflies.

Most insects go through a transformation in their life cycle called METAMORPHOSIS.

Metamorphosis is defined as:

-          the process of transformation from an immature form to an adult form.

-          a change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one, by natural or supernatural means.

This process is how you get a butterfly from a caterpillar. You go from having a creature that spends its life crawling on the ground to having a creature that spends its life flying in the sky. They seem to be two different creatures. Separate in every way possible.

I mean, who looks at a caterpillar and sees a butterfly? They look nothing alike, yet they are the same being.

The same goes for the born-again Christian.

Paul described it as such:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

But here’s where things get a little “different.”

A Christian does not just go through one transformation and “poof” they are ready! We continually go through processes of change.

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

So what does this process look like? How can we know if we are in the transformation chamber or not? I believe we can take a cue from the metamorphosis process of a caterpillar to a butterfly.

First you begin with an egg. In that egg you have everything you need to make a caterpillar. It’s just all self-contained, waiting to be born. Though it looks like nothing is happening from the outside, there’s a lot of cellular activity going on inside. The body and its necessary “organs” are being formed. The caterpillar’s legs, face, mouth, stomach, skin, etc is all being formed inside that egg. And when it is time, the caterpillar breaks forth from the egg’s shell, no longer self-contained.

Let’s stop right here for a moment. First off, there are so many similarities between this process and the process of a seed growing into a plant (I’ve previously written on this topic. Here’s the link: http://proverbs8whoeverfindswisdomfindslife.blogspot.com/2017/04/my-god-is-way-maker-pt4-other-side.html ).

So what does this have to do with you as a follower of Jesus Christ? God has planted in us all seeds of purpose. We of course have the seeds of His fruit in us because they come with the Holy Spirit. But I’m talking about purpose and destiny. God has purposed you for some “assignment” while here on earth. You may know what that purpose is. You may not know what that purpose is. Yet it is inside you all the same. And though it may not seem like much is happening on the outside, God is working inside of you, preparing you to break forth from being self-contained into a “mobile unit” that will walk in purpose.

The next stage of the process is the caterpillar (larva) stage. A caterpillar is a pretty cool creature in its own right. I mean, all they do is eat. All day, every day, they eat and eat and eat. They may not even know why they are eating, they just have an intense drive to eat. In this stage, the caterpillar is building up its strength and reserves. Here it is growing so fast that it molts its skin over and over (shedding it’s skin, so to speak) as it prepares for the next stage of their life cycle.

For the Christ follower, this is your time to “fill up” on the word of God and on the necessary training needed for your God-given purpose. You just keep devouring the word through personal study, bible teaching, and sound preaching. Get close to people who are doing what you believe God is calling you to do. Learn from them. Train under them. Serve them. If you are not sure what God is calling you to, then come under the covering of spiritual leadership that will teach you about ministry, service, prayer, and the many other aspects that come with being a minister of the Gospel. This will be an important time for you. Here you will be strengthened for what is to come. Here you will grow and begin to “shed” off those hindrances, character traits, or even those sins that have so easily troubled you in the past (Hebrews 12:1).

Now we come the part I call the TRANSFORMATION CHAMBER. It sounds a bit ominous, but it’s actually one of the most important stages of the caterpillar’s life. In this stage, the caterpillar transforms from one creature into another. This is called the chrysalis stage. A chrysalis a “new skin” or outer shell that surrounds the caterpillar while it enters its last stage of transformation. From the outside it doesn’t look like much is happening, but on the inside EVERYTHING IS CHANGING! Most of the recognizable organs and features of a butterfly were actually hidden within the caterpillar the entire time, but it is here, in this chamber, where the butterfly’s features become fully developed.

Alright my little Christianling. You may be wondering what this means for you?

It is in the transformation chamber that you are hidden away from the world. In this “secret place” you and God are getting REAL CLOSE! And it’s uncomfortable, cramped even. You discover that there is not room for what you want AND what God wants. You discover that your ways and God’s ways are worlds apart. You discover that you need God a lot more than you ever thought you did. Here you are exposed and revealed to yourself. The old and the new are before you. The old needs to fall away to give place to the new. Old mindsets, attitudes, habits, hurts, wounds, you name it! God touches those “raw nerves” and asks that you lay them down to follow Him. But He doesn’t leave you empty. He has a new mind, a new heart attitude, a new prayer life, a new perspective, a new start all laid out for you. Here is where He wants it developed so that these things shine brightly through you.

And I cannot lie, this is probably the hardest part of the transformation process to endure.

This is the part of the growth process where most people just want to give up and walk away. That’s like going through part of the wedding ceremony, and then walking off right before you say “I do.”

You are sooooo close to seeing the fruition of the seed God planted in you from the start. You’ve come so far. Do not turn away now!

The transformation chamber can be a doozy, but only if you try to go through it in your own strength.

Finally we reach the final stage. The butterfly. When you look at a butterfly, you cannot see the caterpillar that it once existed as. Before you is a creature that stands out above all the other insects with its big bold wings and beautiful colors. It is so glorious! No longer will this creature crawl on the ground. This creature was made to FLY!

And so are you! When you take off into purpose, you are glorious. People will be able to see God in you, knowing that you could not have gotten there on your own. They will see the beauty of the character God has built in you. They will see the fruition of your endurance. And as you look back to the process, you will see the necessity of every step. All will be made clear. And you will be thankful for the process, knowing it has worked in you an eternal weight of glory.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

So I encourage you. If you currently find yourself in the Transformation Chamber, yield to the process. Recently while in my own transformation chamber, I cried out to God:

“Growing wings is hard!”

He quickly replied, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

I then cried out again, “I’ve never flown before. I don’t know how.”

And the LORD, in all His goodness, said, “I teach you all you need to know. It is necessary for you to come up higher. Things cannot stay the same.”

Right there…..that’s when I looked up and right in front of my eyes on my wall were the lyrics to the song “Potter’s Hand.”

I began to weep. And oh so gently I said, “I give my life to the Potter’s hand.”

All God is looking for is our “Yes.” He doesn’t need our qualifications, our resume, or even our pedigree. He just asks for your surrender to His will. Because He has good plans for us.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

And we are being prepared for something greater than ourselves. We must “come up higher” to see what God is saying. Things have to change if we are going to move forward into purpose. We, as the church body and Bride of Jesus, are being prepared for a glorious Bridegroom.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5:25-28)

We are being prepared, even now, to be presented to our Lord Jesus. May we all surrender to this time of transformation. And soon we shall fly together in a glorious display of God’s might, power, and glory.

God bless you today 💗