Diamonds In The Rough

Diamond In The Rough dan skognes leadership development trainer coach consultant motivation blogger speaker

Have you ever heard that term, “diamonds in the rough?”  What exactly does that mean? Someone (or something) that has hidden exceptional characteristics and/or future potential, but currently lacks the final touches that would make them (or it) truly stand out from the crowd.

The phrase relates to the fact that naturally occurring diamonds are quite ordinary at first glance, and that their true beauty as jewels is only realized through the cutting and polishing process

I am going to let you in on a little secret. We are all diamonds in the rough at some point of our lives.  We all have rough edges that need to be polished.  When a diamond cutter goes to work on a stone, he is careful not to damage it.  He precisely cuts it to where it reflects light in the most brilliant fashion.

There are all sorts of diamonds, different quality, even different colors, just like people. Every one of them is unique. You know what all real diamonds have in common?  They were formed from pure carbon under intense pressure and heat.  We are just like diamonds in the rough.  We are forged in the fire and pressures of life.  It makes us into something beautiful and useful once we have been cut and polished.

If a diamond had feelings, I am sure they would object to the heat and pressure put on them to make them into what they are.  So, it is natural that we would not like it, but it gives us our inner strength and beauty.

God is the master jeweler.  He cuts off the rough spots and polishes us with relationships and trials.  Sometimes they are one and the same. We just need to accept who we are (God’s creation), what we were made for (to glorify God, serving Him and others), and then we simply need to reflect the light (He is light).

Diamonds have great value.  The less flawed they are, the more they are valued.  While we all have flaws, they are minimized by the polishing that God does.  He has a way of making even the most flawed diamond valuable.

The Apostle Paul considered himself to be one of the most flawed people to ever walk the earth, and God allowed him to write a large portion of the New Testament.  How marvelous is that? Talk about grace!  Now if He can do something like that with a murderer, what could He do with you and me?  THAT gives me great hope!

I don’t want to be left like a lump of coal, unrefined, never achieving the brilliance that I was created for.  That is the choice we each have to make. Will you allow God, the master jeweler, to have you in His hands?  Will you trust Him to cut and polish you and make you into something beautiful and usable?  He will, but we have to make the choice and submit to Him.

So, what do you choose?  My prayer for you is that you choose to let go, and let God do His perfect work in and through you.  The world will be a better place for it.  Here is to seeing your brilliant reflection.  Let your light so shine before men that they will see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.

Shalom!

Dan Skognes

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