Tidbits of Treasure
I do not write, because I believe I have it all together and I have all the answers. I write because the peace and realization I experience when I receive a Tidbit of Treasure from a time tested truth in scripture, is asking to be shared. I write because there just might possibly be someone else out there who needs this treasure as much as I.
Not a day goes by where I do not thank God for pursuing me. Lies, self-hate, depression, loneliness and fear are losing their grip on me; and seeds of truth, love and hope have been planted and are blooming. The bible is full of scripture that tells us from God himself and Jesus his son, how much we are loved. When we shed the false beliefs we carry about who God is and what Christianity means and learn to spend time in His word, we will experience something words cannot describe. There will come a relationship, that when wholly accepted, brings freedom from fear, shame and guilt.
I have been both the victim and the helper. I have felt despair so deep it made me believe the world would be better without me, and I have been the one to remind another that those words are the epitome of lies. I have leaned into the arms of Jesus to let him carry me through, and I have been the arms carrying another through. I have come to the decision that we make life so much harder than it was ever meant to be. I have seen people who have lost loved one’s wanting to give up and stop moving forward, and I have seen others who have lost and handed themselves again to the One who saves. In all these situations, it has been with the hand of Christ that hope lives. Pain gives way to comfort, hate gives way to love, loneliness finds relationship and fear is replaced with courage. Life loses the chains that bind and the hopeless find wings of freedom letting them soar.
A blessed life without full understanding of who the giver of these blessings truly is and what He calls us to, is one still missing the greatest piece. God, our Heavenly Father and Creator, “who sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,” (Isaiah 40:22) has so much more to give to those who believe. Not connecting that, “we are God’s handiwork,” opens the door to the questions, Why are we here and What is my purpose? The answers are being looked for amongst a society of mortal beings instead of from the creator himself who has purposed us for a reason that was known before we were even born.
We are on this earth:
“to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)
“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 1:4-5)
I was missing the true meaning of being able to call God, Abba, Father and truly be his child. God has been gentle with me as I search out the truth. This journey has had its peaks and it’s valley’s. There has been truth revealed and discipline doled out. I have learned that attending church on Sunday does not make me a believer and fulfilling a Christian duty does not grant me access to Heaven. God has opened my eyes and shown me that there is an unfathomable amount of treasure waiting to be discovered, more than just the bits we get fed from a Sunday appointment with a priest or pastor. Relationship with Him lives in Jesus, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6).
Once I grasped the personal nature of this verse, the floodgates of hunger and thirst were unleashed and a new desire I had not known before was born. My knowledge and understanding grows, but it is faith and trust that brings me the true gift of peace we are promised. This is a peace that cannot be obtained by controlling our surroundings in order to avoid trouble. Instead it is a peace, “which transcends all understanding, [and it] will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7) allowing us to walk through trouble.
As a child, I lived with a lot of rejection, never knowing the comfort that having Jesus as my friend would bring. As a momma who has uncovered this treasure, I share it with my children reminding them they are never alone. Loving the Lord and his instructions requires faith in Him to do as he promises. He tells us to love our enemies and let him be responsible for avenging the wrong done to us. Letting go of the need to defend myself and my family, is teaching me what the peace of Christ really feels like. Some days, I know it well, others, I am still holding on to the human need to defend. Meeting daily in prayer, praise and song, has formed the groundwork for this personal relationship that brings my heart to love deeply the one who created me. It has revealed the truth that trusting Him brings relationship and allows me to lay down my burdens to find rest for my weary soul.
Father,
Life holds so many unknowns and stresses we were never meant to experience. Your compassionate nature and merciful heart, offers all of us a chance for renewed life and deliverance from harm. I pray for all who do not yet know or trust in you, that they will accept your invitation and your gift of salvation. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
