Jewels in the diadem of the Lord

Are you heavily laden with problems? Have you come to a point in your life when you feel forsaken and wrestled with the Lord why you are going through so such suffering? Do you often find an escape route so to avoid the pains that come with them? We all go through trials, problems and sufferings everyday and for most of us, we feel the twinge but fail to recognize why we go through these.
So as not to feel the pain, we sometimes avoid these problems and all the sufferings that come with them. Sometimes we seek an escape route. We sometimes miss the fact that our problems are God-appointed – fashioned to stretch us, challenge us and deepen our walk with Him. We sometimes forget the lessons – that growth and wisdom come with each irritating grain-of-sand-like problem.
Sometimes, it is worthy to observe the “other small creatures” around us for they give us lessons which we ought to imbibe. An oyster, for instance, is only an ordinary mollusk served on the dining table, for most of us. But there is more of the oyster than just being an appetizer. It gives us beautiful and expensive pearls. However, the little oyster goes through so much pain before it is able to produce this precious gem.
Grains of sand and rock fragments enter the oyster shell and its first reaction is to expel the irritant substance. In the process, it struggles until rasped and bleeding, but still the irritant substance would not be expelled. Feeling helpless, the oyster lets a “new force” come into play. The peculiar physiological system of the mollusk then sends forth a crystal fluid which covers and coats the rough substance with a soft crystalline cushion and as it grows and hardens, the irritant, at the right time, becomes a beautiful pearl.


The grain of sand and rock fragments are our problems and sorrows which oftentimes, instead of facing squarely, we try to avoid. But no matter how hard we try to avoid them, they keep coming back, trying us even more, making us so depressed and helpless. We sometimes forget that there are problems and circumstances beyond our control, and we need a mightier force to solve them for us. When we have exerted too much effort and there is nothing else we can do, let us follow what the oyster does, let us allow a “new force” to come into play. Leave the “work” in the Lord’s hand, and someday, from these problems will emerge beautiful pearls, precious jewels for the diadem of our Lord.