[box] “My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly” (Proverbs 2:1-7).[/box]
It was a brisk but gorgeous morning at Duck Point in the Northwoods. I pled with the Lord to give me wisdom on how to share memorable lessons from God’s Word as we had our morning devotions together. My team was dragging themselves out of bed trying in vain to keep their thoughts on what we were sharing. Yawns, heads nodding off in sleep, and pesky bugs that caused some of the group to go from a careless listening to a chaos.
I was reminded of the Proverb challenging for us to search the Scriptures as for hidden treasures. My mind raced as to something tangible I could use to illustrate this concept. Suddenly, I knew what it was. I told the guys, “What if there was something super special to me… like, REALLY special to me…” I slowly grasped the watch that was on my wrist. It’s golden hue glistened in the morning light. I paused and noticed how all their eyes were on the watch and ears were listening. I continued, “This is a nice watch. What do you think it is worth?” Various answers and questions quickly came. I asked, “Now what if I were to tell you that it is not only an old valuable watch but that it was given to me by someone who has invested a whole bunch in my life and who people all around the world know?” I hesitated for a moment, but sensing total peace, I slowly took the watch off, gathered it in the palm of my hand and hurled it out into the water. The splash seemed to not only resound across the still waters of the lake but tugged at my heart as I realized I may never see the watch again.
Gasps could be heard as guys with astonished faces look incredulously at me. Several of the guys jumped up to go and find it. I asked them, “How many of you would want to go and search for it?” Before I could even get the question out, some of the guys had begun to strip down for the plunge. “The water is so cold, you will be wet for a long time, and worse, you may not even find it even after hours of search?” Still, that did not dissuade some of them. Finally, I told them all to come back and sit down for a moment. There was something which is a far greater treasure than a simple watch. However, today, it is one of the most neglected gold mines of all time—The Word of God. I then told the guys, “This is what we so often do to the greatest treasures on earth. We chuck them aside as a piece of rubbish or as another stone to skip and yet God’s Word is the most valuable treasure that He honors it above His own name.”
We then took some time and really searched God’s Word for insights. Everyone seemed to dig deep knowing that each one of us have a treasure to find to apply to our day. After a while, I heard many of them share a treasure they found that morning. Deep inside, I knew that if I never found the watch again it would be a worth-while sacrifice if each of those ten guys would not forget the value of Scripture. As our time of sharing came to a conclusion I said, “Now I have prepared to go for a little dip in the lake, and it will be short, but I am determined to find that treasure.” As I prepared to go in, several other guys already made it into the water. In a short time a grid search had been conducted and our treasure was found. Gladly the watch had no damage from the water and continued to tick away. Our lesson that morning will not soon be forgotten. We paused to thank God for the rich treasures He has preserved for those who are determined to find hidden treasure. Will you take the plunge?
Comments
Thank you David for a beautiful reminder of how the joy that comes when we seek for Him with all our heart. Oh that we would pursue Christ this way, “no reserves, no retreats, no regrets.”