Hidden Treasures

"I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:3 (NIV)

 Money was tight this month. After paying the bills we were left with $49.59 in our account and we still needed to buy gas for the week, groceries and refill our prescriptions. I did some creative menu planning and went to the grocery store, but I knew that we still needed to find the money for our medications.

Borrowing money is such a humbling experience, but that's what we had to do and I was thankful that we were able to purchase our medications.

Today, however, I went back over our checkbook and discovered an error that added up to just a little over the amount we had to borrow. It felt like I had discovered hidden treasure! The money had been there all the time. If I had only dug a little deeper, I would have found it.

In the Apostle Paul's letter to the Colossians, he said that he had a goal for them...

"My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Colossians 2:2-3 (NIV)

Paul's goal was that they might know the mystery of God, who is Jesus Christ, and he said that in Jesus are hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

I wonder how many times we overlook those hidden treasures? How many times we skim through our Bible or mutter hasty prayers, missing the depth of Christ?  How many struggles do we go through when the answer is right there, waiting for us to slow down, take our time and pay attention.

If I had done that, I would have known that God had already provided for everything we needed and I wouldn't have had to borrow money.  If we slow down and really get to know Jesus Christ, there's no telling what blessings He has already been provided that are just waiting to be discovered.

Prayer:
Father, help us to slow down and really spend some time with you, to really get to know your Son and the depth of His character.  Help us to find those treasures of wisdom and knowledge that are hidden in Christ. Deliver us from the busyness of life that keeps us from fully knowing your Son. Amen

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(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)