Painful Pearls

Nearly 2 years ago I bought "A Jewel in His Crown," by Priscilla Shirer. I had forgotten about it...until this morning.

Priscilla is the daughter of Tony Evans. (That means she knows her stuff!) Her book is written with the purpose of helping women rediscover and reconnect with who they are in Christ. I'm sure you'll be seeing quite a few posts referencing things I've found in her book!

This morning I came across a passage in Jeremiah that she used to illustrate a point on God's ability to transform our pain into strength.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5, NIV)

Most everyone knows how pearls are formed. If, during an oyster's life, something irritating makes it's way into the muscle, the oyster secretes a thin sheet of a substance called nacre (Confession: I had to look that up.) The nacre encloses the object that is irritating the oyster and begins to change and reshape it until it is no longer an irritation, but a pearl.

Priscilla goes on to say that God often uses the painful and uninvited irritations in our lives to change us into something that was not in us before; something extraordinary. It's our job, when uncomfortable situations invade our lives, to wrap ourselves in the Word of God. It's filled with substance and will change us into something stronger than we were before.

If Jeremiah 1:5 is true, then God knew long before we were born what we would go through. He knew the struggles we would face. He knew the hurts and disappointments that this life would bring us. If He knew all those things, then He also knew exactly what we would need in order to overcome those hurts, disappointments, and struggles. Before we were even born He was building in us the inner strength we would need for this life on earth.

I pray I remember this when life gets irritating. No matter where I am, God has given me what I need to be there.