Look Up, Girl!Sample

Diamond In The Rough

Diamonds—rough, dirty, and damaged—are still beautiful. They can’t help being what they are. It takes centuries of pressure to make a solid stone. But stress and weight are patient as they set what was soft into something in­destructible. Those flexible elements, with just the right force and time, will end up being a lovely, durable dia­mond.

Then the Hands of a Loving Lapidary make the dingy jewel more precious still. With committed study, He searches out its flaws, its weak points, and maps its vulnerable spots. He knows He will have only one chance to redeem its inner perfec­tion. And when ready, with a ruthless blow, He cleaves the stone in two with a single strike—then another and another until all of the stone’s blemishes and defects have been chiseled away. What is left is a gem of such worth that it is scraped and sanded and polished for a place in the crowns of kings and queens.

Like that radiant treasure, we will finally reach our zenith—a diamond our Divine Lapidary knew was hidden there all along. To God, you are a blinding dazzler; a gem of enormous price. A small but cherished chip from His Hidden Vault sparkling as if never knowing a day of injury or the ache of relentless pressure and hardship.

You and I are so much like diamonds in the rough. But unlike a natural crystal that accepts what it is and how it was formed, we are much less agreeable to the process. We cry out under the strain and wince when a blow is struck, even as God’s Tender Hand holds us still. We are precious ornaments, unaware that in the care of the Great Lapidary, we will, in time, be shaped to take our place in His Glorious Crown.

Oh, little diamond, hold still. The Master is at work.

Question

Which part of God’s Polishing Process is the hardest? What do you suppose would happen to you if He stopped?

Prayer

To the Hands that hold me in a state of ongoing invention, I will not budge beneath Your Skillful Strikes. Help me to endure the edge of Your Chisel and the blows of life. In time, they will make me into the reflection of Christ. Amen.

References

“In his hand is the life of every creature.” —Job 12:10

“How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.” —Psalm 104:24

“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” —John 1:3

“It’s hard to be a diamond in a rhinestone world.” —Dolly Parton

“The soul is placed in the body of a rough diamond and must be polished, or the luster of it will never appear.” —Daniel Defoe