God brings the growth

Every September growing up as a kid in the Chicago area, I remember the last monarch caterpillars of the season crawling around.

They would eat their fill of milkweed, then hang in that strange “J” shape before forming a chrysalis.

A few weeks later, out would come a butterfly—ready to make the incredible journey to Mexico.

What always strikes me about that process is how little the caterpillar does.

It doesn’t force itself into wings.

It doesn’t engineer its own transformation.

It simply yields to the work already designed by its Maker.

That’s a picture of how God works in us.

Paul wrote, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Cor. 3:6).

And again, “We are being transformed into His image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18).

Yet how often do we depend on our own effort?

We tell ourselves that if we just try harder, we’ll grow.

If we just push more, we’ll finally transform.

But Scripture reminds us that the real change—the deep, lasting, transforming work—comes from God Himself.

Our role is not to force the outcome, but to remain rooted in Him... nourished by His Word, yielded to His Spirit.

So the next time you see a monarch, let it remind you: transformation is God’s work.

And the One who began a good work in you will bring it to completion (Phil. 1:6).

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