Quick question, “How do you handle troubles?” I have asked myself that question severally in the last couple of weeks. Some things have not worked out the way I wanted or expected. I have been disappointed and let down by people and challenges have kept on coming my way. Some of the things I have faced are purely out of spiritual warfare as the devil tries to stop me from pursuing to relocate and plant a church.

I have realized that many times, when faced by trouble and challenges of various kinds, we tend to get upset, moody, discouraged and sometimes even tend to loose our faith in God to help us out of whatever situation we are in. As I have been studying the word of the Lord, I have come to realize that God allows trouble to come our way not to destroy or stop us but for our own good. Everything that happens to us has a purpose and never catches God unawares. There are times when God uses trials to teach us things such as patience, humility, perseverance and faithfulness. The troubles we face may show us how much we are in need of God, and that we may learn to trust Him more fully. When difficult situations and circumstances come our way, we need to learn to wait on God and allow Him to accomplish His work in us. The finished product of the Lord’s working in us should be a beautiful precious pearl but many times we destroy what the Lord wants to do in us by our response to life situations. The bible encourages us in James 1 verse 2 and 3, “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials . . . the testing of your faith produces patience.”

As I was contemplating my situations, I begun to pray in line with the verse in James 1 and the Lord allowed me to come across a story that challenged me greatly. I had never really thought seriously about how pearls are made or where they come from and the story I read reinforced the truth of the word of God. Oysters live in shells that help to protect them from harm. Anything that gets into their shells tends to hurt them due to their tenderness. Even a grain of sand hurts oysters. Despite their tenderness, Oysters respond to the foreign objects that hurt them in a very amazing way. A grain of sand that enters an oyster shell hurts but then the Oysters secrete nacre, a substance that helps them to cope with the pain and injury caused by the sand. Over the years, the grain of sand surrounded by the nacre ends up producing a wonderful precious pearl. This is illustrated by the following poem:

"There once was an oyster whose story I tell, who found that some sand had got into his shell. It was only a grain, but it gave him great pain for oysters have feelings although they're so plain. Now, did he berate the harsh workings of fate that brought him to such a deplorable state? Did he curse at the government, cry for election, and claim that the sea should have given him protection? No- he said to himself as he lay on a shell, since I cannot remove it I shall try to improve it. Now the years have rolled around, as the years always do. And he came to his ultimate destiny: stew on a man’s plate. And the small grain of sand that had bothered him so was found to be, a beautiful pearl all richly aglow. Now the tale has a moral, for isn't it grand what an oyster can do with a morsel of sand? What couldn't we do if we'd only begin with some of the things that get under our skin?"

The Oyster, written by "Anonymous".

Just like Oysters, God wants us to produce for Him beautiful pearls as we grow in Christ likeness. He wants us to put our faith firmly on Him and grow in the grace and knowledge of God. Every test, every trouble, every challenging situation ought to produce for God a beautiful pearl as we learn to trust Him more and grow in faith. He will help us through as we trust Him and therefore, I call out to us to seek to live life joyfully each day despite the challenges and troubles and seek to produce a pearl for the Lord. It may be a pearl of patience in one day and a pearl of a forgiving heart another day. It may be a pearl of gratitude another week and a pearl of faith, unwavering faith, another month.

Whatever the situation, lets live to produce pearls, beautiful precious pearls for the Lord.

Blessings

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