Problems into Pearls

Many people look at the pearl and think that the pearl is one of the most beautiful jewels of all. I am sure that on Sunday morning, you get dressed, get ready to put on your accessories and think, “What will REALLY make this outfit pop?” You say, “Ah, yes, my pearls!” Yes, they are a precious stones and they can dress up just about anything in your closet. Pair a short strand of pearls with a business suit, or wrap a long strand of pearls around your wrist. Wear stud pearl earrings with your work attire. Pearls create an elegant and womanly look when paired with an evening gown. Opt for colorful, large and long pieces when wearing a solid-color dress, or go for small pearls when wearing elaborately embellished attire. In the evening, wear necklaces, earrings and bracelets in combination. With everyday attire, have a little fun with your pearl jewelry. If you pair a classy top with jeans, add pearls to create a trendy and fashionable look. Choose chunky pearls, colored pearls or layer different strands of pearls. Pearls are the quintessential.

But I am sure that you are not reading this to get fashion tips; therefore, I am ready to give you some Jesus tips. How many of you look at your string of pearls, before putting them on, and stand there thinking about the process that this precious jewel has gone through to set off your outfit? Some of us don’t REALLY know or understand how a pearl is formed, in the first place. All we know is that pearls come from an oyster and that’s about it. I mean, after all, we don’t really NEED to know how pearls are formed to enjoy wearing them, now do we? No, we don’t… but in order to TRULY appreciate them, we need to know the process that they’ve gone through.

Rather than forming in the ground like most gems, a natural pearl begins when a foreign substance slips into the oyster between the mantle, a fold of skin which protects the oyster’s organs, and the shell. This foreign substance irritates the mantle. It's kind of like the oyster getting a splinter. The oyster's natural reaction is to cover up that irritant to protect itself. The mantle covers the irritant with layers of the same nacre that is used to create the shell. The longer a pearl stays in the shell, the more nacre or protective coating, forms and the larger the pearl.

Most pearls that we see in jewelry stores are nicely rounded objects, not all pearls turn out so round. Some pearls form in an uneven shape- these are called baroque pearls. Pearls, as you've probably noticed, come in a variety of colors, including white, black, gray, red, blue and green. Most pearls can be found all over the world, but black pearls are indigenous to the South Pacific.

The two most common types of pearls are cultured and natural. Natural pearls are ones that occur when a small impurity, like a grain of sand, enters the shell of a mollusk, naturally. Cultured pearls are formed in exactly the same way as natural pearls, but the initial impurity is inserted into the shell to start the pearl growth.

In our lives, there are occasions in which problems are going to arise. John 16:33 says: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” As people, that’s the last thing that we want…PROBLEMS! They just cause so many…well…PROBLEMS! There is just no way around it! We will have trouble in this life, but I am here to share with you today how we can turn our problems into pearls.

As I have explained, pearls are formed from foreign substances that enter into the oyster. How many of you have had foreign substances enter into your life? We all have! They are as unwelcome to us as they are to this oyster, because they irritate us, just like they irritate the oyster. Now, the oyster’s natural defense is to cover it up with layers of nacre to protect itself. We humans react the same way. When problems come into our lives, our first instinct is to protect ourselves. When facing trials in our lives, the issue is not the irritant, but what we decide to cover the irritant with? Do you cover your irritant with alcohol, drugs, or sex referred to in 1 John 2:16? Or do you cover it up with the salve of Jesus as referred to in Ezekiel 16:8? A protection of anything other than Jesus, will never produce a pearl of high quality (Matthew 6:25-34). Remember, the longer the irritant stays in the oyster, the more nacre is produced to cover it, the larger the pearl will become. Here I stand to encourage you to not stress about how long trouble lasts. Just continue to cover the trouble with Jesus, because the longer the problem stays in your life and the more Jesus you cover it with, the bigger the pearl you will produce in the end.

When we think of pearls, we think of a perfectly round jewel, but not all pearls are perfectly round. A number of pearls are unevenly shaped and of different colors. The shape of the foreign substance that has entered the shell determines the shape of the pearl, and the location of the body of water from which the oyster was taken, governs the color. So for instance, the foreign substance of my mother being on hospice for about a month now is producing a pearl of a different shape than the foreign substance that has entered your life. The foreign substance that has entered my life here in Maryland has produced pearls of a different color than the foreign substance that has entered your life in Alabama or Georgia. But as Christians, after going through such trials, we can string our pearls together to create a piece, exemplifying God’s glory!

We previously discussed the two different types of pearls, the natural pearl and the cultured pearl. The natural pearl takes place when foreign substances, naturally, enter the shell of the oyster, but a cultured pearl takes place when someone inserts the foreign substance into the oyster. We, too, can develop natural pearls and cultured pearls. In our lives, there are natural troubles that occur such as death, natural disasters, or sickness; on the other hand, there are cultured problems in which people insert into our lives like a child deciding that she no longer wants to be a mother and she drops all five of her kids at your door, an abusive husband, or a person lying and scheming to make you lose your job in order that they can have your position. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 says, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” No matter if our lives have been plagued with natural troubles or cultured troubles, we can still develop pearls by covering the problem with Jesus!

Yes, no matter your problems, you can cover it with Jesus! (Romans 8:31)

Sickness…cover it with Jesus

Death…cover it with Jesus

Loss of work…cover it with Jesus

Wayward child…cover it with Jesus

Divorce…cover it with Jesus

Bills are due…cover it with Jesus

Church members gone astray…cover it with Jesus

Church in turmoil…cover it with Jesus

Spirit low…cover it with Jesus

Depression…cover it with Jesus

Problems on the job…cover it with Jesus

Evil in our world…cover it with Jesus

Sin…cover it with Jesus

And if we continue to cover our problems with Jesus, then our problems will become our PEARLS!