“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Philippians 3:12).
The world owes much to the French naturalist and scientist Jean Henri Fabre (1823-1915), who spent a lifetime studying butterflies, grasshoppers, and insects in the forests near his home. On one of his nature walks, Fabre noticed a long line of caterpillars following each other end to end. What went unnoticed with others, though, registered with him. Collecting a number of the caterpillars, he took them back to his work area and placed them on the rim of a flowerpot, linking them nose to posterior. For several days the procession went on. Even when he placed food in the flowerpot, enticing the caterpillars to break ranks, the mindless creatures followed the lead until they were too weak to move, and they dropped off and died. Fabre gave them the name processional caterpillars.
Question. Has your life become like that of a processional caterpillar—an endless and pointless routine which never seems to end? Call it a rat race where the rats are winning, or liken it to a squirrel who is on a treadmill in his cage, always moving but going nowhere, or whatever, you can relate to the routine where you find yourself going in circles but going nowhere.
So, how do you break out? You can. The following five guidelines will work. Guideline #1: Stop the merry-go-round, the endless circle, the day-after-day routine. Back away from your schedule long enough to look at your life. A day of solitude, a long afternoon’s walk in the woods, an escape from the routine, will give you time to pause and think, something you don’t have time to do when you have become a processional commuter.
Guideline #2: Get a fix on God. You don’t do that when your eyes are glued to the pavement, focused on your next appointment, the tyranny of the urgent, whether it is to get the report out at the office or to pack lunches for the kids and run yourself so you won’t be late for work. Someone wandering in the forest, lost and unable to find the trail, may have to cry out, “Help, I’m lost!” before he’s found. You don’t wait to see the person to rescue you before you yell. You cry out and then are found. “The LORD is good, a refuge in the time of trouble,” says scripture, adding, “He cares for those who trust in him.” It’s still true.
Guideline #3: Determine what direction you want to go in life. A goal is worth fighting for only when you have a purpose in getting there. That’s why you need to think through the issue of God’s will for your life. Yes, He does have a will for you if you are His child. Paul says that His will is good, acceptable, and complete. He says strongly, “Don’t be ignorant but understand what God’s will is” (Ephesians 5:17, Sala translation).
Guideline #4: Focus on God’s purpose for your life. Now, most people never consider the fact that God does have a purpose for you, and that God specifically has a purpose for you as His child. Writing to the Philippians, Paul says, “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Philippians 3:12). The word “to take hold of” was the same word used in the 1st century of an individual who wanted to receive an inheritance from his father. So, what’s God’s purpose for your life?
Guideline #5: Don’t get back into the processional caterpillar mode, the endless routine of day after day following emptiness, going nowhere, accomplishing nothing, and great frustration.
There is a better way: God’s purpose. Go for it!
Resource reading: Philippians 3:12-14.
