Recently I read an article about the natural process of creating diamonds which prompted me to do a little research about them. According to wikipedia our word diamond was originally derived from the  ancient greek word  adámas, meaning unalterable or unbreakable.  

The following description is taken from “How Do Diamonds Form?” at http://www.whiteflash.com/about-diamonds/diamond-education/diamonds-how-do-they-form.htmn

 “If you look at the chemistry of diamond, it is pure carbon. The different arrangement of the carbon atoms makes it a unique gem. Diamonds have been considered precious since ancient times and is popular for their strength, hardness and purity. But only in the hands of a master diamond cutter does a diamond’s sheer beauty become apparent. 

Diamonds were formed in the earth thousands of years ago under extreme heat and pressure. This extreme heat and pressure in the earth transformed the carbon into crystals and turned it colorless. Although diamonds formed deep in the earth, volcanic activity is what brought them to the surface. Hence, these volcanic pipes have diamonds in them. Over time, as some other minerals mix with carbon the diamond may takes on color.  Most diamonds have some hint of yellow or brown in them.  Others that did not mix with minerals are colorless.  Some diamonds undergo dramatic changes to vivid or unique colors.  These are very rare and valued more than normal diamonds.”

Isn’t it amazing how something so beautiful can come out of carbon put under extreme heat and pressure.  Sound familiar?

Our walk with Christ will be spotted with times of extreme heat and pressure.  1 Peter 4:12,13 NIV ¹² Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³ But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed.

It is  through the times of heat and pressure that we grow the most. We learn to lean on God in ways that are not possible at any other time. These difficult times and circumstances  often cause  us to get to the end of our own efforts and finally truly look to our Creator for answers He has longed to give us.

If you are going through a time of extreme heat and pressure right now, look to Christ for your answer. Lay your burden down at His feet and allow Him to change you and possibly your circumstances. Don’t despise the trials that come your way. Instead, yield them to the lover of your soul. Your faith will grow as you see His hand move in your life in ways only He can do. As your faith grows, so will your character. You will become stronger in faith, harder in your determination to serve Him and purer in your thought life as you yield yourself to Him and His will for your life.  Allow the master diamond cutter to make you into a thing of beauty, reflecting His image.

Romans 12:1-2 NIV 12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.

1 Peter 1:6-7 NIV ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.