Daily Devotions
Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Romans 4:7
Many of the ladies listening to me have pearl earrings, a pearl pin or a pearl ring.
I wonder how many of those ladies have considered that the pearl they wear so beautifully is the product of pain?
Let me explain: when a foreign substance, an irritant, usually a grain of sand, gets into the oyster’s shell, it causes pain. That’s when the oyster coats that abrasive object with a substance called nacre. Layer after layer of the stuff encapsulates the irritant.
The end result is the formation of a beautiful pearl.
It occurs to me the Lord has done much the same thing for some of the very special people I have known.
In almost every case, an outside irritant inserted itself into their lives. That irritant may have been something small, but most of the time it is large and troublesome.
Now these folks could have allowed the irritant to destroy them. They could have, but they didn’t. Instead of giving up in despair, they turned to the Lord. He helped them coat that trouble with His peace, which passes human understanding.
The greater the irritant, the longer it was around, the more help He gave them, and they were able to carry their problem.
But there is a greater result than the disappearance of pain.
These people, having dealt with their problem by God’s grace, also produced a beautiful pearl.
Their lives took on a value they didn’t have before. Because of God’s help their lives and their witness became a beautiful and precious thing.
Now I share this with you though I don’t know if you have an irritant in your life. If you don’t now, you will someday. When that happens, I encourage you to call on God and let Him coat the problem with layer after layer of His help and assistance.
From a devotion originally written for “By the Way”
THE PRAYER: Father, You have covered our sins with the blood of Your Son. Now I ask You send Your Holy Spirit to help me with the problems that insert themselves into my life. This is the request offered up in the Savior’s Name. Amen.