Can our troubles really become pearls of faith? Pearls are rare and beautiful. These beautiful gems are created by the oyster's response to a parasite invading their shell.
My troubles, my parasitic circumstance, can become beautiful? Hard to believe but if we dive into scripture, God shows us that with Him, anything is possible.
Tim Mackie, Bible scholar of the Bible Project says that the whole point of the book of Psalms is to teach us the language of prayer.
The Psalms are like an instruction book on prayer. The Psalms give pride of place to our emotions. We are not to stuff our emotions in life and try to forget them or give our emotions full vent and let them control our choices. But we are to pray through our emotions — pray through our circumstances. God wants us to come to Him. He is waiting.
In Psalm 3, David gives us an example from his life and how he handled his parasitic circumstance. In this Psalm, David is running for his life. His own son, Absolom, staged a coup to seize the throne. David was afraid, very afraid. 12,000 soldiers were attacking and setting their arrows on his life.
In this Psalm, David shows us three steps to resting in the Lord with our troubles, our parasitic circumstances. Take a moment and read Psalm 3.
- David identifies his troubles and brings them to the Lord. God can handle us freaking out about our troubles. He likes to hear from us and wants to. God is not just the creator of the universe, He is our comforter as well. David emphasizes three times how many are after him, letting God know just how afraid he is.
- David then shifts his focus from his circumstances to who God is and on His character. David calls out to the Lord, identifying Him as a shield about him, His glory, and lifter of His head. David places his personal significance in the Lord, remembering he is nothing without God. The Lord is a shield, close to David, protecting the most vital part of him. David chooses to rest in this intimacy with God and confesses what is most important to David. God is his shield and the lifter of his head.
- David moves forward in his circumstances with God in faith. He knows bad things are happening to him, yet he moves forward trusting that God was with him — He is a shield around him. In this trust, he can rest. He continues to share with God about his circumstances but gives his situation over to the Lord, trusting the outcome whether that be death or restoration.
Just like an oyster lays down layer upon layer, encapsulating the parasite and creating a beautiful pearl, David lays down truth after truth after truth, encapsulating his circumstance, creating pearls of faith in his life.
David didn't become one of the greats in the Bible because he slayed Goliath. He is one of the greats because he was a man after God's own heart. A man who chose a relationship with God above all things. In this relationship, David lived a life being a light to the nations around him.
If we walk daily in these three steps like David, our circumstances too can become the testimony of His power in our life, shining pearls of faith.
