A pearl is a very valuable creation.  Besides their beauty, pearls have many uses.  They are used in jewelry, furniture, musical instruments, decorative items, buttons and even for medicinal purposes. This exquisite creation used for our enjoyment is produced through an unpleasant experience for the oyster.

Jewels are found deep in the earth, but pearls are found inside a living creature, the oyster.  The oyster uses a biological process to protect itself from foreign substances thereby creating pearls.

The formation of a natural pearl begins when a foreign substance slips into the oyster between the mantle and the shell.  The foreign matter irritate­s the mantle just like a splinter in our hand irritates us.  The oyster’s natural reaction is to cover up the irritant to protect itself. The man­tle covers the irritant with layers of the same nacre substance that is used to create the shell. This eventually forms a pearl.   A pearl is a foreign substance covered with layers of nacre.

So, how can such an annoyance, an irritant to the oyster, produce such a beautiful and valuable creation?

We can compare ourselves to the oyster.  God uses this very same principle with us.  Many adversities, annoyances, problems and even enemies come into our lives.  God uses each one of these irritants to perfect us, His bride, to become that “pearl of great price.”

Our trials (our irritants) are not really about us.  It feels personal, but our trials are about God’s purpose for us.  God is at work in us.  His purpose is to change us to become more and more like His son, Jesus.  He is our model, and until He arrives to get us, we should ever be in a state of metamorphosis.  We should be growing and maturing continuously.  

God has a purpose for each one of us.  He has a plan to prosper us and not to harm us.  When we feel the “pain” in our problem or irritation, we sometimes assume that the pain is for our demise, rather than our gain. 

Nothing could be farther from the truth!  God often uses pain, problems, enemies and even our mistakes to polish us, grow us, mature us and push us to the other side where victory is waiting for us!  Everything that we go through will have a purpose of changing us and preparing us for our destiny.

Joseph comes to mind when I think of an example of someone who had many irritants come his way.  He certainly had many opportunities to get mad and discouraged about his situation.  His brothers sold him into slavery simply because of their jealousy of him, and he was later thrown into prison because Potiphar’s wife unjustly accused him.  

When Joseph was working as a slave, I am sure he did not feel like slavery was working for his good.  When he was in the disgusting prison, I am sure he did not feel like he would one day be second in command next to Pharaoh.  However, God was using each one of these irritating situations to test, grow, and mature Joseph because of his massive responsibility later in feeding all of the land through the seven years of famine. Through the irritating circumstances, God was preparing Joseph for his ultimate purpose.

God used Joseph’s jealous brothers to act as the irritating grain of sand in Joseph’s life to help produce in him a pearl for all of Egypt to enjoy, thrive, and survive. Because Joseph made pearls out of his irritations instead of letting the irritations fester into internal sores, he was promoted to an extremely high status of wealth and authority.   

     Our PAIN can sometimes be for our GAIN!

 

We all face irritants in our lives daily.   Sometimes the irritants are people; sometimes they are circumstances.  If we can learn to make pearls out of our irritants, we can create value from the irritant.    If we do not choose to make pearls from our irritants, we allow the irritation to fester and produce internal sores in our life.

Instead of looking at your irritations as that of a problem, look at your irritations as a possibility of creating a source of value in your life.

Do you have any irritants in your life at the moment?   Are you making pearls out of your irritants?

Learn to see your irritations as a valuable pearl!

*Share with a friend, and comment on any pearls that you are making now out of present irritations that you are going through.