When
seemingly needless suffering invades our lives, we often ask ourselves, "Who needs all this grief?" But consider, for a moment, the origin of
pearls.
Each
pearl is formed by an oyster's internal response to a wound caused by an irritant,
such as a grain of sand. Resources of repair rush to the injured area, and the final
result is a lustrous pearl. Something beautiful created that would be
impossible without the wound.
…We
see Joseph in a position of influence, a position God soon used to feed
surrounding nations and Joseph's family during famine. But how did he become influential?
It began with a wound ~ being sold into slavery (Genesis 39) ~ which produced a
pearl of usefulness. Because Joseph drew
on God's resources when humiliated, he became better, not bitter. He named
his second son Ephraim, which means "twice
fruitful," and he said, "God
has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction" (Genesis 41:52).
Author
Paul E. Billheimer says of Joseph, "If
human pity could have rescued him from the sad part of his life, the glorious
part that followed would have been lost." So if you're suffering, remember:
No wounds, no pearls! J. Yoder
If we accept adversity, enduring
every pain,
Then we will learn what we should know;
Our grief will turn to gain. —Sper
From “Our Daily Bread,” copyright 2006 by
RBC Ministries,
“Gold tried in the fire” ~ “Whenever a new trial is presented
to the Christian, if he will but call to mind this precept of the Lord, it will
stimulate courage, nerve to patient endurance, and quicken to
self-sacrifice. How can gold be tried
without the crucible and the flame? How
can the dross be eliminated? There is no
other way, therefore, “think it not
strange.” Let the fire burn; let the
dross be consumed; and see to it, beloved, that in the heat of the flame you
remember that the eye of the Great Refiner is upon you; and as the refiner of
gold watches the metal in the crucible to see His image reflected in it, so the
Lord, The Great Refiner, has His eye on you.
He is watching to see how the precious metal of your character reflects
His image.”
~ Selected
~