Christians make mistakes. They are misunderstood. They are persecuted because of what they stand for. Apart from the usual problems and difficulties of life, it seems they have trials and testings all of their own.The good news is that God can use them all. "We know," says Paul, "that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose" (Rom 8:28). For the Christian, God will bring good out of the worst situation.
Besides, the difficult things we go through equip us to empathise, to draw alongside, to help others going through the same sort of situation.
Selwyn Hughes describes it beautifully:
Christians are to follow in the steps of Jesus and turn their sufferings to good account. The way in which this is to be done is beautifully illustrated by the experience of the oyster, into whose shell there comes one day a grain of sand. This tiny piece of quartz lies there imposing pain and stress - so what shall the oyster do?
There are several courses open. The oyster could, as so many men and women have done in times of adversity, openly rebel against God. The oyster, metaphorically speaking, could shake a fist in God's face and say, 'Why should this happen to me?' Or it could say, 'It can't be true; this is not happening to me. I must not permit myself to believe it.' It could say also, 'There is no such thing as pain. It is an error of the mind. I must think positive thoughts.' But the oyster does none of these things.
What, then, does it do? Slowly and patiently, and with infinite care, the oyster builds upon the grain of sand layer upon layer of a white milky substance that covers every sharp corner and coats every cutting edge. And gradually. . . slowly. . . by and by, a pearl is made. The oyster has learned - by the will of God - to turn grains of sand into pearls. And that is the lesson we must learn along this pilgrim way. Surely it is something more than a simile when the Bible says that the entrance into the New Jerusalem is through a gate made of pearl. It is pointing out that the way into the city of God is through a wound that has been healed. Let God help you turn your pains into pearls, so that others can walk through them into joy and encouragement.[1]
[1] Selwyn Hughes. Every Day with Jesus, March/ April, 2010. Farnham, Surrey: CWR, 2009. Used by permission of CWR.
