How Strong are Your Prongs? | February 29th, 2016

Prong settings have been used in jewelry making for mounting and securing stones for years. One favored prong setting you may have heard of is the “Tiffany setting.” It is a trademarked design for engagement rings which was created by Charles Tiffany during the 1880s.

This setting popularized the general use of prong setting engagement rings:

The most common prong settings incorporate four, six, or eight prongs which slightly bend over the stone to hold it firmly in place. The more prongs that are used, the more secure the setting.

Much of the vintage costume jewelry I buy has multiple stones that are all prong-set. I always check to make sure that none of the prongs are loose or broken so I don’t end up losing any of the stones. If I lose one, it may be nearly impossible to replace as it must be the perfect size and shape to fit within that empty space.

Filling Your Empty Space

There is an empty space that is in the center of your life which is much like the space made specifically for these mounted stones.

Yours is shaped in such a way that only Jesus Christ will fit in it perfectly. Although there are many things with which you can try to fill your empty space, He is the only One who can make you feel whole and complete.

Your space also has prongs around it to hold Christ tightly in the center of your life, just like the mounted stones must have prongs so they don’t become loose. These prongs are your heart, mind, and spirit. If you allow them to become weak, alluring temptations in life such as money, power, or material possessions can end up wiggling their way into this space, pushing Christ right out of it.

Because these other fillers are a different size and shape, they will never fit perfectly. You will continue to be dissatisfied, striving to put something else in its place that you think will finally make you feel fulfilled.

King Solomon denied himself nothing his eyes desired and refused his heart no pleasure. In Ecclesiastes 2:10b-11, he remarked:

My heart took delight in all my labor and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. 

King Solomon had tried everything he could think of to fill that that hollow space within him and nothing ever fully satisfied.

Think for a moment. What consumes most of your time, energy, and thoughts? That is most likely what is filling your center and can easily take your attention away from focusing on God.

Give it to God

Worry is another filler that can find itself in your center, especially if it becomes a daily, habitual part of your life. Worry can easily consume you with the many things there are in life that you can find to be concerned about. Health, finances, work, relationships, your children, the future…the list goes on and on. There is absolutely nothing beneficial about worry which only tends to decrease inner peace while increasing stress. Over time, it can often even lead to illness! Yet, people will still continue to fill their center with it.

When you replace your worry with Christ, you are able to view your circumstances from His perspective without any need at all to worry. Your powerful, loving, and all-knowing God will handle all your worries for you.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6

Strengthen Your Prongs

So how do you strengthen your heart, mind, and spirit, the prongs that hold Christ firmly in your center?

Jesus had an answer to this in Matthew 22:37:

Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

If you truly love God with all of your heart, soul, and mind, there is no room for anything else to fill your center. Your prongs will be firm and secure around Christ and nothing can ever take His place.

Another reason the prong setting is so popular for engagement rings is that it allows light to come in contact with the diamond from more angles. When this happens, it greatly increases the diamond’s brilliance.

When Christ is firmly set in your center, your brilliance also increases as His light radiates more powerfully through you to bring Him glory in all you do.

Spiritual Sparklers

Sparkler #1: Prayer

Ask Christ to put Himself in place of everything else you are trying so desperately to fill the empty space in your center with so that you can be fulfilled and completely satisfied in Him who fits perfectly.

Sparkler #2: Action

Give God all of your worries and focus on loving Him with all your heart, soul, and mind so you can strengthen the prongs around Christ in your center.

Sparkler #3: Challenge

As your focus turns toward Christ and away from all of the other things in life that have captured your attention, be ready for opportunities to share Him with others. Like a radiant, prong-set diamond, people will be drawn to His light shining brilliantly and beautifully through you.

*Engagement ring – Photo credit: Nicolas Perrault III

Kimberly Moore is a blogger, speaker, and author of Beauty in a Life Repurposed and Kingdom Sparkle. To learn more, visit her website at kingdomsparkle.com.

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