How to Get a Perfect Diamond

Light danced around the inside of my car as I sat in traffic on the freeway. The sun was refracting through my wedding set bouncing a kaleidoscope of color all around. We weren’t going anywhere any time soon so I took a moment to study the shining symbol of marriage on my left hand.

The actual engagement ring is a single round brilliant-cut stone. It may not earn top ratings for clarity and color but it brings a smile to my face whenever I look at it. He bought it for me when we were struggling college students. The original wedding bands, two narrow gold rings that my brother made, have been replaced by a diamond ring guard—a surprise for our tenth anniversary. Each of the many gems of differing size were catching and reflecting little bits of sunlight.

The stones in my ring didn’t begin life as glittering diamonds; they were once lumps of ebony coal. Under the right conditions of pressure and temperature, they were transformed into diamonds. But that was just a beginning. Uncut diamonds—while an improvement over lumps of coal—are still unremarkable, a long way from the sparkling beauties in my wedding band. 

Each diamond had to go under the skilled hand of a master craftsman. He began with a rough-cut, chipping away the most obvious flaws. Bit by bit he took great care to cut away pieces. When he was done, what was left would flash with fire as light rays reflected through its many facets. His cuts were not random—but precisely made and planned—even before he made the first one.

We begin life much like a diamond. Our souls are dark like coal with the sin of a life lived in separation from God. When we give our life to Him, accepting the gift of salvation through Jesus, we are transformed just as the coal is. Yet, we too are works in progress as the Master Craftsman chips away at the flaws still within. Using His master plan, He works to reveal the person He created us to be.

The tools He uses are varied; scripture, conviction by the Holy Spirit, and even trials of life. He works little by little until the flaws and imperfections break away. But unlike the coal and the uncut diamond, it is up to us to allow Him to complete the work in us. We are each given free-will. He will never force His way upon us. We must surrender ourselves and every flaw.

When we first start our walk with Him, we are like uncut diamonds receiving our rough-cut. We start to shine some of His light but the sin nature that remains inside does not allow all of His light to shine through. We must surrender every part of ourselves to receive the finished brilliant-cut.  Sin cannot be cut away while we continue to hold on to it.

The deeper our walk with Him, the more He reveals the layers of our sin nature to us. Not to condemn us—for Jesus’ death covered all of our sin—but to ask us to surrender it to Him. It will cease to cling to us only through His strength. The cutting process is often painful as He chips away at the ugliness that remains. But He is always there beside us, loving us through the hurt.  The more He perfects His work in us the more brilliantly we reflect the Son to the world.

Sometimes I shine brightly with the love of God and clearly show His light to the world. But there are many more times, I am saddened to say, when I don’t. The light strikes a flaw, a sin in me, that I have not fully surrendered to the cutting tool. The light is unable to shine through me; the world sees instead the ugliness that remains within. I do not want to remain His flawed creation so daily I must surrender and willingly place all of myself under the hand of the Master Craftsman.

Message for the Journey:

A master craftsman is not content to leave imperfections in his work, neither is God content to leave them in us. He loves us too much to allow us to remain how He found us. The trial, difficulty or challenge you are facing just may be the fingerprints of God molding you into something better.

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus return.”

Philippians 1:6

©AnnWilds2011

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How to Think Like a Child

A little boy spied a damaged wooden fence while out on a walk with his mother. "It's broken", he said pointing to it. "What happened, Mommy?" 

"I don't know, baby”, she answered. 

The boy was silent for a time, and then spoke up confidently. "It's okay. Daddy can fix it."

When we're little, our caring parents seem to be all powerful. They know everything and can do anything. We never doubt their abilities. We turn to them in time of need. When we're scared, we run to them. When we bruise our knee, our mother's kiss makes it better. If a toy breaks, our father can put it back together. 

Unfortunately, not everyone experiences loving parents.  Orphans come in two types: true orphans—those without parents, and emotional orphans—those with abusive or neglectful parents. Because of their experiences, orphans grow up with a different perspective altogether. Difficult circumstances are seen as insurmountable due to their limited resources and support. Without someone to depend on, they have no choice but to rely on themselves. They struggle as best they can to get by.      

Whatever our earthly parental experience, once we accept Christ we are no longer spiritual orphans.  With God as our father, we each have the perfect parent. No one can love us more or better than He can, nor can anyone—or anything—exceed His power. There is no hurt He can't heal. There is no damage He can't repair. And there is nothing so dead that He can't give it new life. 

Yet despite our new identity, we sometimes revert back to our old way of thinking. We forget whose we are. We see the difficult circumstance as insurmountable. We try to get by on our own, overlooking the one who is all powerful and completely dependable. When we give in to fear, we fail to behave like a child of the King. But we can change this by learning to overcome orphan thinking as soon as it appears.    

1. Be Aware of Yourself- The first indication of orphan thinking is a change in emotions. When we are in tune with our feelings, we can easily sense if our peace is slipping away to fear, doubt and worry. 

2. Speak the Truth of Who You Are- We may feel like an orphan for the moment, but that isn’t who we are. Those days are behind us. We received a new identity through Christ, becoming a full heir of the King's. We need to embrace it.    

3. Look at God Not Circumstances- Our view of God diminishes when our focus is on the problem, instead of on Him. He created the universe and all of creation obeys His every word. He is so much bigger than our current circumstances. With our focus on Him, we maintain a proper perspective seeing things as they really are.  

4. Recall His Presence- We are never alone. When we think of the many times in our life that He has helped us in our time of need, we remember that He always has our best interest in mind. Bible stories show us that He is ever faithful to His children. He is always dependable and there for us.    

5. Commit to Give Praise- The final step to change orphan thinking is to thank God for all He is and all He has done. Authentic praise propels us directly into His presence. Once there, we are able to regain our peace and once again think like a child. 

Message for the Journey:

Children never doubt that Daddy can fix the problem, no matter what it is. He is so big and powerful. When we think like a child of God's, we know with confidence that it is true. When we fall to orphan thinking, we see our present circumstances as insurmountable.  Our peace gives way to fear, doubt and worry. Orphans only have themselves to rely on. But we are not orphans. We are children of the King's. We can always run to our Daddy. No power is greater than His, and no problem is beyond Him.

                                                                                                ©AnnWilds2011

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Keep the the Destination in Mind

I don’t know about you, but impatience remains an opportunity area in my life. It’s quite possible that God will still be developing this particular fruit of the Spirit in me up until my final moment on earth. With His help, I’ve gained ground. Friends have commented on my patience in trying times, but I think that is more a reflection of my stress management skills than my level of patience. I still have so far to go, but I can laugh at the comical ways impatience arises in me. It’s so often over the little things in life.

One way is when I’m driving and find myself behind a truck or van - any vehicle that I can’t see around. I feel myself growing impatient. I have the urge to change lanes, to get around them. The feeling isn’t connected to their speed; that’s what makes it funny. Even if the pace is perfect, I’m impatience nevertheless. I feel trapped. I just want...no need...to be able to see. I want to know what’s coming.

We can react the same way as we travel the winding roads of life. I know I often do. I want to know what the plan details are. Will this happen or will that happen? Will God open this door or shut that window? How long will this situation last? Just what exactly is coming around the next turn and when?

The interest to know isn't the culprit. The problem begins once the interest becomes a desire and then a need. When negative feelings arise-frustration, confusion, doubt, anger, fear- they reveal what is at the heart of the matter.

We desire control because we don't trust God fully. We lean on ourselves as a back up plan. While our thoughts and words may indicate otherwise, our lack of peace exposes the truth. We aren't fully surrendered to Him.

How could we, even for a moment, believe that our way would ever be better than God’s? Do we really think our plan would be more perfect than that of the Creator of the universe? He is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient with our best interest at heart. We are flawed and so very limited.

Our way might seem easier in the moment for ourselves, but easy is not the destination. God is more concerned with our character than our momentary comfort. He knows the ultimate destination is to become like Christ. 

We can try to influence travel on the freeway, but we can’t control it any more than we can control life’s outcomes. We may influence them, by our actions and choices, but only God is fully in control. And that is wonderful news. He is sovereign, in control of everything. And He loves us unconditionally. He doesn’t need us to navigate for Him or to edit His plan. What He desires of us is simple- trust and dependence. 

Message for the Journey:

When we keep the intended destination of becoming Christ-like in mind, we can sit back, relax and follow Him on the roads of life. We don't need to see what's ahead. God knows exactly where He is taking us. Whether it is uphill or downhill, moving fast or moving slow, He is in complete control and He is good. God’s character never changes. 

                                                              ©AnnWilds2011
 If you enjoyed this article, why not share it with a friend, tweet it and "like" it on Facebook. If you aren't a subscriber, I'd love to welcome you to the Lessons for the Journey community. Receive a free copy of The Uncut Diamond e-book when you subscribe.

Don't Forget the Life Preserver

Growing up in Lake Charles, I've spent a lot of time in boats. Being out on the water can be a calming or exhilarating experience, depending on the conditions. I've always loved it. But, occasionally it can become frightening. 

Once we were on a different lake with a friend, when our sunny day suddenly turned stormy. Clouds rushed in. thunder rolled and heavy rains began to fall. As the wind picked up, so did the waves growing to a menacing height for the small vessel we were in. The first thing we did was to put on our life preservers in case the storm became too much for our boat. It was tense and slow going, but in time we made it safely to shore.    

There was another boat caught out on a lake in a sudden storm. In it were Jesus and His disciples. Before boarding, Jesus told them to go to the other side of the lake then he fell asleep. When the storm struck, the disciples were terrified. Fearing that they would all die, they woke him. Instantly, Jesus calmed the storm then asked, "Where is your faith?" Had they remembered who was with them on the boat, they would not have given in to terror.

Are you experiencing an unexpected storm in your life? Perhaps you are facing fearsome waves of financial crisis, sudden illness, or relationship turmoils. Or the waves of your tempest may be an internal crisis of direction knocking you off course.  If so, don't give in to terror that they may swamp your boat. Reach out to Jesus to calm your fears. He is always there beside you. 

Keep your faith in the One who controls all things. We may not know why the storms come, but as His children we can be confident that He will see us safely to the other side.  

Message for the Journey:

Nothing surprises God. Jesus wasn't surprised that a storm came up while He slept on the boat. Your storms don't surprise Him either. With Jesus in the boat, no storm could ever stop them from reaching the other side. Neither can any storm in your life prevent you from reaching the destination God intends to take you to. Never forget who's in your boat- Jesus the ultimate life preserver.