Pebble Beach

Source: unknown

"He hath made me a polished shaft"
(Isa. 49:2 ).

 
There is a very famous "Pebble Beach" at Pescadero, on the California coast.
The long line of white surf comes up with its everlasting roar, and rattles and thunders among the stones on the shore.
They are caught in the arms of the pitiless waves, and tossed and rolled, and rubbed together, and ground against the sharp-grained cliffs.
Day and night forever the ceaseless attrition goes on---never any rest.
And the result?

Tourists from all the world flock thither to gather the round and beautiful stones.
They are laid up in cabinets; they ornament the parlor mantels.
But go yonder, around the point of the cliff that breaks off the force of the sea; and up in that quiet cove, sheltered from the storms, and lying ever in the sun, you shall find abundance of pebbles that have never been chosen by the traveler.

Why are these left all the years through unsought?
For the simple reason that they have escaped all the turmoil and attrition of the waves, and the quiet and peace have left them as they found them, rough and angular and devoid of beauty.
Polish comes through trouble.

Since God knows what niche we are to fill, let us trust Him to shape us to it.
Since He knows what work we are to do, let us trust Him to drill us to the proper preparation.

"O blows that smite! O hurts that pierce
This shrinking heart of mine!
What are ye but the Master's tools
Forming a work Divine?"

"Nearly all God's jewels are crystallized tears."

 

Psalm 42:
As a deer longs for the water-brooks, so longs my soul for you, O God.

 
When Admiral Peary was a boy of ten, he set his heart on discovering the North Pole. All through life he nursed this great desire, no matter how people made fun of him.
His response was to dedicate his life toward his goal, and he became the explorer he wanted to be.

When I hear someone say, for instance, "I always wanted to be a teacher," only politeness keeps me from answering, "No, you didn't, or you'd be a teacher.
There was no ‘always' and you didn't really ‘want' it.
You just had a little wishfulness now and then."

Let us be honest with ourselves.
What do we really want out of life, and want all the time?
If we truly long for it, we will work for it, and work for it tirelessly.
We will not forget it when something else comes along, and more than likely, it will come to us.

If we want God, if we can say, "As a deer longs for the water-brooks, so longs my soul for you, O God," we will find God (or God will find us).
God may not come to us immediately, but God will come.
To want is the first and last essential.