Look for the hidden treasure in life. There will always be a bright spot in the
middle of a storm like the calm in the eye of a hurricane. You have heard the old adage to think
positive; well, the Lord was the originator of that concept but it has become
watered down over the years. When your
world is caving in and nothing is going your way the first thing to do is to
stop and thank God for allowing what is happening. More than likely your heart will not feel
grateful but I will advise you to say, “Thank you, Lord” for this
situation. Tell Him you know He is in
control and something good will comes out of it. I’m
not saying God is not the cause of the pain, He is however allowing it and He
can make the greatest things out of ashes.
Think positively knowing God is on your side. He is working in your
situation, and in His Word He promises double for your trouble. Quote His word back to Him and make your
confessions out loud.
“Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and
instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in
your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.”
Isaiah 61:7
Just try it. It’s not likely to work like magic
but I can tell you from personal experience you begin to become renewed and you
will start to think differently over time.
And isn’t that what we
are after anyway? We cannot control
other people, we can only change our thoughts introducing new ideas with the
Word of God.
I was at a family destination wedding, you know where everyone
flies or drives to the exotic location.
In ways it was the best of times and in others it was the worst of
times. That’s all I’m going to say, some of you will know what I mean. One day to get away from the activity I went
to the beach alone. I found a perfect
parking spot, I found a pleasant place to put my lawn chair, I had the optimum
sunscreen, sunglasses, reading material and cool drink. It had the makings of being peaceful.
Well, it was supposed to be peaceful but I could not shut my mind
off. I went there to get away from my
problems, but I took them to the beach with me.
I pulled my Bible out, and I could not get anything out of it. I watched the shore and the birds and the
people, and all the while my issues were on my mind. I could smell someone’s cigarette and it smelled good. I had quit smoking 10 years before and I
almost never had a craving anymore. I
thought to myself, I sure wish there was some guy here to hang out with. Ok, two of my vices that date back as far as
I can I recall. I don’t think I knew enough to thank Him back
then but I remember pleading with God, “You have to give me something!” I was filled with the same frustrations that
I had growing up. My memories of
childhood had followed me here.
I was having incredible trouble stopping from rehashing the
memories, when a lady about 60 years old walked by on the beach and stooped
over about 20 feet in front of me. She dug a hole in the sand, put something in
it, covered it up and wrote on the top of it with a stick. She did not look around, she just walked
off. What? What was that? She walked off further down the beach never
looking around to notice that she was being watched. Further down the beach she did it
again! The look on my face must have
been priceless. Come on what on earth
was she up to? Of course, I had to find
out what in the world she buried. I was
thinking about going over there and digging it up. Why would she bury it right out in the open
where anyone who was paying any attention would be able to catch her? Was it
valuable? Was it an illegal substance?
One thing is for certain, my relatives were no longer on my
mind. I had to know what that lady was
up to. So as I was mulling over this
mystery and wondering how long it would be before my curiosity got the best of
me and I started burrowing in the sand looking for gold, the lady came back. I recognized her and begged her to please
tell me what she was up to.
She laughed and proceeded to tell me the most wonderful story of
when her three sons were young and they came to the beach. It was sort of a gloomy day and the boys were
bored. Her husband took some washers and
painted them gold and put them in sacks and buried them in various places along
the beach. They were marked in the sand
with an ”X”. She and her husband told
the boys a magnificent story about how pirates buried their treasure in this
way and the boys walked along the beach discovering buried treasure. She told me how many years ago her sons were
entertained for hours on a gloomy day on the beach. She and her husband now have grandchildren
and their family tradition continues.
God answered my prayer that day when I pleaded, “You have to give
me something”. God knew I was doing
everything in my power to change my thoughts and stop the old childhood
recordings from playing. No, a pack of
cigarettes didn’t
mysteriously appear on the beach, a suntanned guy did not come over for conversation
or more, but God gave me buried treasure – literally! He sent the lady near me to dig a hole in the
sand and it was enough to stop the record from playing. My memory of the trip to the beach was been
replaced with children excitedly finding the “X” in the sand, getting their
little shovels out, delighted to find their gold. And for me personally, it stopped my brain
from being tormented, helped me resist my old vices instead crying out to God
for help, and finding something richer than I ever dreamed possible.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment