We stood at the chick-hatching station at the fair again this year. There are other displays but this certain one is always my favorite. There’s just something about seeing the eggshells begin to chip away as the baby chick inside the shell begins “pipping” (when the chick begins cracking the shell) in a perfectly designed production. God is amazing in His creation.
We’ve worked this poultry booth at the fair for several years and there’s almost always lots of children streaming in to watch this grand production.
Inevitably, there will be that child who wants to help the chick out of its eggshell. Such compassion!
“Can we help it?”
“Can we crack the shell more so he can get out quicker?”
“Is it ever going to break out?”
You see, it takes anywhere from ten to twenty-four hours for a baby chick to break out of its oval-shaped hatching environment. (I only know this because my hubby has been in the line of work for a long time. One picks up on things over time!) Above our heads is a monitor showing a time-lapsed video and it looks like it happens in a flash. Not likely! So, the children want to see that scraggly, furry, yellow creature erupt as quickly as the video makes it appear.
Their questions seem innocent enough, but the answer is always, “No.” Helping out one of these future-feathered creatures will only cause them harm in most cases. The struggle of pipping out of the shell is necessary for their survival, for their strength, to produce stamina, etc. Sure enough, contrary to the opinions of inquisitive, young minds who just want to help, the chick needs the time and struggle to make it in this world.
“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” - Matthew 24:13
Our spiritual lives are much the same. Aren’t there times when we ask God how much more? How much longer? We may long for ease of passage through the hard parts of life; however, we must endure through each hardship to make it to our final reward. Enduring means going through the struggle and not by-passing the ugly stuff. The blood-and-guts seasons of life produce good stuff within us if we’ll stick with God’s plan.
“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
We may not have to pip out of an eggshell but we will most certainly have to struggle through the hard stuff of life, but when we are weak, then we are strong. We just keep pushing on, taking one step after another and getting up again. Our weaknesses will soon produce strength. This is God’s economic plan. We don’t need to have it easy to make it!
Just as God has designed the perfect plan for a chick to pip out, He has designed us for more through every struggle. It’s the perfect combination needed for our transformation and preparation for eternity. God’s interested in more than the here and now, He sees forevermore.
The Bible is full of examples for us: Daniel, Jonah, Moses, Joseph, Abraham...on and on we see God using struggles to fashion His creation into beautiful vessels. His perfect plan!
In a hard spot today? It might just be a strengthening agent in your life. I don’t pretend to have it all together myself. I still must be reminded and prodded too, but that’s part of the journey for us all, isn’t it? Let’s not be quick to ask for the easy way out and miss the glory in the struggle.
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