A Pearl of Great Price

Pearls are created by irritation. 







Pearls are made when a foreign object becomes caught inside of an oyster. The object wounds the oyster. The wound is enclosed and inescapable. In reaction to the wound, the oyster releases a substance called nacre that coats the intruding object. As thousands of layers of nacre coat the object, a pearl is formed. It takes seven to eight years—an oyster’s full lifespan—to form a pearl.

There are painful situations in life that are inescapable. Irritations that come in the form of relationships, health issues, or poverty.

     There will always be something...


They intrude upon us without invitation. We cannot run from them. They are part of living in this fallen world.

  But they are also orchestrated by a sovereign God.

                      For what reason?

                   to work pearl into us. 


When a jagged, gritty particle lodges in the soft folds of the oyster's flesh, the oyster, having no means of removing it, sets to work to transform it. At such times, we can either let the Lord Jesus transform our painful experience into a pearl, or we can become embittered and blame others,

      ...including God.

if we choose to become embittered the wound never heals, allowing the bitterness to well up from within... causing misery for others.

See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
       ~Hebrews 12:15

A believer gives up all his rights in order to follow the Lord in all circumstances of life because of the wonderful assurance that the Heavenly Father is in charge of all that comes, and that adversity coated with the soothing secretions of the Holy Spirit are transforming us into pearls.

Every painful experience is opportunity to know the Lord Jesus better.
     ~ J. White

God’s plan was that Jesus would be crucified so that we could have a full and eternal life. Christ suffered because He was obedient to the will of God, His father.

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
       ~Phil. 2:8

The whole sweep of the Old Testament, in its types, symbols, and pictures, demands that the Messiah die for the sins of the world. The death of Jesus Christ is the primary event in history. It is the scarlet thread woven throughout Scripture.
       ~John MacArthur

Paul encourages believers to be joyful through the trials and afflictions in our lives, as God works His pearl in us. He intends to use affliction to transform believers to be beautiful in character and obedient even unto death, like our Lord Jesus.

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
       ~James 1:2,3

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.
     ~I Peter 4:12,13

Our first priority in times of adversity is to honor and glorify God by trusting Him. We tend to make our first priority the gaining of relief from our feelings of heartache or disappointment or frustration. This is a natural desire, and God has promised to give us grace sufficient for our trials and peace for our anxieties. But just as God’s will is to take precedence over our will (Jesus Himself said, “Yet not as I will, but as you will” - Matthew 26:39), so God’s honor is to take precedence over our feelings. We honor God by choosing to trust Him when we don’t understand what He is doing or why He has allowed some adverse circumstance to occur. As we seek God’s glory, we may be sure that He has purposed our good and that He will not be frustrated in fulfilling that purpose.
     ~Jerry Bridges

Father God, ~ help me to respond positively to the Holy Spirit's work during times of adversity. Keep my attention focused more on the cross and on the God of the cross than on the adversity, irritations and sufferings that come my way. Do not let the sufferings of this world threaten my faith in Your goodness and tempt me to leave the path of obedience.

Like Christ, the ultimate pearl of great price, let suffering prove my allegiance to You. 

Always Seeking Higher Ground,

Nora

The Pain of Suffering

Suffering occurs daily in this home. It's not even 9:00 yet, and already there is wailing and gnashing of teeth. Both boys have taken their turns screaming and yelling about the injustices in this family. Eldest's cheif complaint is that when he wakes up and wants to lay on the rug in front of the heater, he shouldn't have to share it with his brother...and youngest is upset that his parents can't make two missing Lego pieces magically reappear.

Of course the proper response to these complaints is to teach them what real suffering is...

Oldest is relegated to his room, particularly his bed, to finish his morning sleep, and youngest has now not just lost two, but all of his Lego's until he can address his parents properly.

                 It doesn't work

If anything they now feel justified in their complaining because now they really are suffering.

I do get frustrated when they do not take responsibility for their problems until I realize...

I too come up with excuses to justify my "suffering"

I'm impatient because I didn't get enough sleep, I'm nibbling on these chips( again) because it's hard to make the paycheck stretch this month, the dishes will have to wait because this cold is getting me down, I have to constantly fix other people's mistakes, so I deserve to be able to...

       indulge my martyr complex.

The greatest temptation of our time is impatience, in its full, original meaning: refusal to wait, undergo, suffer....

        ~Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy

I can't help but contrast my pathetic thinking with a true martyr, missionary David Livingstone (19 March 1813–1 May 1873). He gave his life to serve Christ in the exploration of Africa for the sake of the gospel.

Here is what Livingstone said to the Cambridge students about his “leaving” the benefits of England:

"For my own part, I have never ceased to rejoice that God has appointed me to such an office. People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. . . . Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view, and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice".

Those who are chosen by God to be His people have a mission—to serve others, to even suffer for the sake of others, all for the glory of God! We are to be a light to the nations, shining forth the love and glory of God.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
       ~Matthew 5:14-16

What a shame this rotten attitude of mine is... because of the brightness it clouds, and the self-indulgent lies it perpetuates. 

I do not know what sacrifice is...

   just as I do not know what true suffering is.

Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
       ~Romans 8:17

 Paul says we will become Christ’s heirs and share in his glory if we share in his sufferings.

          No suffering.... No Glory.

F. F. Bruce (The Wisdom Literature of the Bible) writes, “It is not merely that the glory is a compensation for the suffering; it actually grows out of the suffering."

God will not simply wait for our deaths, then snap his fingers to make us what he wants us to be. He begins that process here and now, using suffering to help us grow in Christlikeness.

During this painful process God does not slumber. He bears testimony to our hurt, knowing that His refining fire purifies. We never ache, without God attending, and He can't stand to see a tear fall to the floor.

God cups our grief and "puts our tears in His bottle."
       ~Ann Voskamp

You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?
        ~Psalm 56:8

God keeps a list of our sorrows, and has ordained that no matter what happens to those of us who are elect, Christ would get the glory, and in the midst of our tears we would receive joy. To believe in the sovereignty of God is to trust Him; that His promises are true and that His purposes are good all the time, whether we understand what He’s doing or not, because He’s always working for His good and our joy.

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.
         ~2 Corinthians 4:17,18

I love the way J.B. Phillips translates Romans 8:19...

“The whole creation waits on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God coming into their own.”

JEHOVAH-M'KADDESH; my Lord Who Sanctifies. Please forgive my unwillingness to suffer for your sake. Prepare me to be tested. Gird me with your strength. Allow me to share in the sufferings of your son in order to share in His Glory.

Help me to teach my boys, modeling perseverence for the sake of your righteousness.

As a master artist’s magnum opus awaits unveiling at an exhibit, so our Christlikeness, forged in suffering, awaits revealing at the Master’s perfect time.
            ~Randy Alcorn

Always Seeking Higher Ground,

Nora